Introduction to California Institute of Technology

Caltech's scientific reputation ranks it among the world's elite research universities, but with only 300 professorial faculty and 913 undergraduates, Caltech's small size sets it apart from its peers. Caltech is the place where Linus Pauling determined the nature of the chemical bond, where Theodore Von Karman developed the principles that made jet flight possible, where Charles Richter created a logarithmic scale for the magnitude of earthquake, where Nobel Laureate in physics Richard Feynman-one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century spent the better part of his preeminent career and where physicists and engineers are currently working toward the first detection of gravitational waves. However, Caltech is also a place where more than half of students participate in on-campus research before they graduate, where eighty-five percent of students participate in intramural or intercollegiate athletics, and where students have lived under a student-run honor system since the 1920s. The Caltech undergraduate experience is a fusion of two seemingly incompatible institutions: a multi billion-dollar research university and an intimate small-school community.

As a high-powered research institution, Caltech has produced some of the greatest scientific achievements of the past century. Caltech's undergraduate program trains scientists and engineers for the great discoveries of the next. In class, you don't just learn the answers to questions in your textbook, you learn to ask your own questions and are challenged to find the answers. Professors often treat students as intellectual peers and while this creates a very demanding curriculum. It also gives students the opportunity to actively participate in cutting-edge research. Many undergraduates work as research assistants on campus, and more than 300 participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program each summer. Many of these students will be named as authors or coauthors of articles in major scientific journals, a rare honor for undergraduates. This unadulterated exposure to the real world of science means that Caltech graduates are well prepared for a career in research. A higher percentage of Caltech graduates go on to receive Ph.D.s than do graduates of any other university.

Although the science at Caltech is very serious, student life at Caltech is laid back and a little quirky. Almost all students at Caltech are members of one of the seven houses on campus. The house, the modern-day remnants of long-lost fraternities, perpetuate a long list of offbeat traditions and are the center of year-round intramural sports competitions. The beautifully landscaped campus of open lawns, cool ponds, and winding pathways fosters a relaxed Southern California lifestyle. On an average day, you might find professors and students sharing coffee at an outdoor table or students teaching each other to juggle. At night, you might find a game of Ultimate Frisbee on the athletic fields or students grabbing a midnight snack at the student-run coffee house. There are more than eighty students clubs on campus, eighteen varsity sports, two jazz bands, a symphony orchestra, a concert band, numerous choral groups, and an active theater arts program. Caltech students work very hard on academics, but they're also very good at finding diversions and fortunate;y. there's no shortage of activities from which to choose.