“The truth shall make you free” California Institute of Technology
“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” ~Frank Borman, alumni Caltech~
California Institute of technology is a world-renowned science and engineering Institute that marshals some of the world’s brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions and pressing societal challenges. Founded as Throop University in 1891 in Pasadena, California, and renamed the California Institute of Technology in 1920. The mission of Caltech is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research inte- grated with education. To 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.
BASICS
Students will start their Caltech education with the core curriculum to ensure a strong foundation in mathematics and the natural sciences. It will build the base for the academic career with three terms of math, three terms of physics, two terms of chemistry, one term of biology, two lab courses, 12 terms of humanities and social sciences classes, one term of scientific communication, and three terms of physical education.
Students may want to take a freshman seminar or two to check out the latest research in each field. Toward the end of the freshman year, options will be given for a major.
Caltech will prepare students for the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary research in science and technology and position them for leadership roles in academia and industry. There includes classes in the humanities and social sciences as an important component of the core curriculum to help build effective written and verbal
Over the years, the Caltech campus has made cameo appearances in several well-known TV shows and movies, including The X-Files, The West Wing, Legally Blonde, Entourage, and Mission Impossible, among others.
Caltech’s founding fathers - astronomer George Ellery Hale, physicist Robert Andrews Millikan, and chemist Arthur Amos Noyes - were nicknamed “Tinker, Thinker, and Stinker.”
The Emmynominated television series, The Big Bang Theory, which is set at Caltech, taped an episode on campus that featured a cameo appearance by worldrenowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.
The annual Pumpkin Drop takes place at midnight on Halloween, when students drop pumpkins frozen in liquid nitrogen from the top of Millikan Library to see if they’ll give off a brief glow as they hit the ground and shatter.
Caltech is a certified olive- oil distributor. Since 2007, the campus has hosted fall olive harvest festivals to collect as much as 2,600 pounds of olives from the trees along the famed Olive Walk. The olives yield anywhere from 50 to 150 gallons of oil depending on the year. communications skills—essential no matter what field or profession aimed to enter.
MAJOR
Biology and Biological Engineering Biology Bioengineering Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering Biomolecular Environmental Process systems Materials Chemistry Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Inorganic Chemistry Organic Chemistry Engineering & Applied Science Applied and Computational Mathematics Applied Physics and Materials Science Computer Science Electrical Engineering Engineering & Applied Science Mechanical Engineering Geological & Planetary Sciences Geo biology Geochemistry Geology Geophysics Planetary Science
RESEARCH
As a student of Caltech, students are treated as a scientist from day one. They don’t have to wait to become an upperclassman or a graduate student. Over half of Caltech’s students begin conducting research as early as their first year. Having the opportunity to conduct hands-on research alongside some of the top faculty in the world and in some of the most innovative research facilities is truly transformative.
While there are many ways for undergrads to get involved in research, such as informally asking faculty for permission to participate in a research group or doing a research project for class credit, the most popular way is to SURF—that is, to participate in Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships program.
Caltech doesn’t confine you to only the campus. For example, students could perform research nearby at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is a division of Caltech, or students could jet off to Switzerland to conduct research related to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
ADVISING
Freshman Advisers: Forty faculty members advise frosh on their academic programs. Students are assigned another adviser once they select an option (major), but many frosh creates strong bonds with their first adviser and keep in touch throughout their undergraduate career.
Option Advisers: After students have declared their option, a faculty member from that option will help select courses, chart the progress toward the degree, and eventually counsel students about graduate school or employment.
Dean’s Office: The Dean of Students Office fosters the academic and personal growth of undergraduate students through counseling and support for student activities. It also serves as the liaison between students, faculty, and the rest of Student Affairs.
Career and Pre-health Advising: Caltech’s Career Development Center provides career counseling and resources that will help students prepare for graduate school and life beyond Caltech.
FIRST YEAR APPLICANTS
Students are considered as first-year applicants if they have not yet earned a high school diploma; this includes those who have been homeschooled or are enrolled in high school/college dual enrollment programs. You are also considered a first-year applicant if you graduated from high school but have not since enrolled in college courses for credit.
If students who are applying for undergraduate study, are not U.S. citizens, and do not have permanent residency status at the time of submitting the application, they are considered an international applicant. Caltech accepts applications from students who have studied in a wide variety of curriculums, including—but not limited to— the IGCSE, O, AS, and A Level curriculums, as well as Cambridge Pre-U, AP, IB, and local public options; these will satisfy Caltech’s high-school course requirements for applicants.