California Institute of Technology

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, where extraordinary faculty and students seek answers to complex questions, discover new knowledge, lead innovation, and transform our future.

The mission of the California Institute of Technology is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.

• Biology & Biological Engineering Faculty

  One of six academic divisions at Caltech, Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE) focuses on advancing investigations of and expanding knowledge about the nature of life—from a single molecule to an entire organism. Through interdisciplinary programs of study and research, faculty and students address complex questions related to how living things evolve, develop, and function, and then use their findings to engineer innovative biological systems as well as medicines and other therapies.

  Today's investigators and students add to a rich history that includes the work of individuals credited with laying the groundwork for modern biology with major advances in genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology, and neurobiology. BBE has trained many of the world's most eminent biologists.

  With laboratory and classroom facilities in seven buildings on Caltech's campus, BBE researchers and students also benefit from extensive access to state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and facilities as well as a marine laboratory located within 50 miles of campus.

  The division includes more than 50 faculty research laboratories—labs headed by renowned leaders in their fields, including:

  • 9 Faculty and Alumni Nobel Prizes
  • 10 National Medals of Science
  • 1 Crafoord Prize
  • 1 Kavli Prize
  • 5 California Scientist of the Year Awards
  • 14 Faculty and Alumni Members of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2 Members of Institute of Medicine
  • 15 Members of Academy of Arts & Sciences
  • 9 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators

• Chemistry & Chemical Engineering

  The Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE) provides undergraduate and graduate students with a world-class education in all areas of the field.

  CCE's top-ranked programs blend innovative coursework that requires—and teaches—critical thinking with hands-on research and interdisciplinary collaborations that help students build a fundamental understanding of nature's processes.

  Undergraduate students in CCE can pursue either the chemistry or chemical engineering options. (An option is Caltech's version of a major.)

  Graduate students in CCE can choose either the chemistry or chemical engineering option, or an interdisciplinary option in biochemistry and molecular biophysics, which is run in partnership with the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering.

• Geological & Planetary Sciences

  In the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS), faculty and students study the earth and other planets in order to understand their origin, composition, and development. Their approach to these problems relies heavily on fundamental science and on interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues from across Caltech, as well as at the U.S. Geological Survey and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

  GPS's seamless integration of both earth and planetary sciences within one division gives it a unique perspective on our world and our universe, providing its researchers with the opportunity to apply lessons learned from the earth's geological past to the study of other planets throughout the solar system, and vice versa.

  Ever since the division's beginnings in 1926, its researchers and faculty have worked at the forefront of their fields, shaping how we view and interact with our world as well as with other worlds. Their work has led to a greater understanding of subjects ranging from earthquake mechanics and analysis to geological dating and history, climate science, atmospheric physics, and the origin of planetary surfaces and atmospheres, among other areas.

  Currently, GPS offers programs of study and research in environmental science and engineering, geobiology, geochemistry, geology,geophysics, and planetary science. GPS's academic environment supports close collaboration between faculty and students, allows for interdisciplinary studies within and between different divisions, and provides a curriculum that gives graduate students the flexibility and opportunity to join GPS with degrees in biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics.

• Humanities & Social Sciences

  he Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) is focused on understanding the human experience—from the evolution of culture and institutions to social, political, and economic behavior, from the products of the imagination to the conceptual underpinnings of science.

  With the same commitment to rigorous analysis that extends across all disciplines at Caltech, HSS researchers apply cutting-edge methodologies to deepen our knowledge and understanding of our world.

  Nearly 100 faculty, lecturers, and visiting scholars in the division share a strong commitment to the highest levels of teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences. HSS offers undergraduate options (the Caltech equivalent of majors) in Business, Economics, and Management; English; Economics; History; the History and Philosophy of Science; Philosophy; and Political Science. Additional course offerings range from art history, creative writing, film studies, and music history and theory to anthropology, law, and psychology. Graduate students may pursue doctoral degrees in either the Social Sciences or Behavioral and Social Neuroscience.

  In addition, the HSS faculty and lecturers provide fully a quarter of the core-curriculum courses that undergraduate students are required to take as part of their studies at Caltech.

• Physics, Mathematics & Astronomy

  The faculty, staff scientists, and students in the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA) create and use the most ambitious and technologically advanced tools in their efforts to explore and understand all aspects of our universe—from its structure to its symmetries, from its birth to its future. Their research covers all scales, from the cosmos down to atoms, electrons, strings, quantum foam, and more.

  The division encourages the kind of high-risk, high-reward work that sets it apart. It does this by investing in exceptional experimental facilities and fostering a collaborative and interdisciplinary atmosphere in which science's best minds can be set to work on its most intractable—and fascinating—problems.

Caltech started as a vocational school founded in Pasadena in 1891 by local businessman and politician Amos G. Throop. The school was known successively as Throop University, Throop Polytechnic Institute (and Manual Training School),and Throop College of Technology, before acquiring its current name in 1920.The vocational school was disbanded and the preparatory program was split off to form an independent Polytechnic School in 1907.

Number 7 among best universities and colleges of the world.

Caltech's students are curious and passionate and excel in one of the world's most rigorous academic environments.

Undergraduate life, both academic and social, revolves around the eight student "Houses"—which are fairly unusual as college residences go. They're not dorms or fraternities but "self-governing living groups." The houses bring students from all class years and backgrounds together under one roof. The house system elevates collegiate housing way beyond the standard residential hall. It provides you with your first set of friends as a student at Caltech, which can be one of the most daunting aspects of going to college. The social and academic support from Caltech's house system transforms your peers at Caltech into a second family. Seven of the houses are exclusively for undergraduates, with the eighth house welcoming a blend of undergrads, graduate students, and faculty-in-residence. 

"Dinner is served!" Literally: every weeknight you'll have a family-style sit-down dinner with your housemates. On weekends, you're on your own to explore the offerings of Pasadena or your own culinary skills. 

Caltech students are serious about food! In fact, there is an entire student committee dedicated to making sure students are happy with their dining selections.

Caltech's leadership and administrative offices work to ensure that the Institute is properly positioned to pursue its mission of research and education.

There are lots of differents clubs and assossiations:

• Caltech Ballet Club
• Caltech Chess Club
• Caltech Dance Team
• Caltech Karate Club
• Caltech Russian Club
• Caltech Tango Club
• Photography Club
• Women's Soccer Club
• Caltech Sailing
• others