California Institute Of Technology

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a medium-sized city.

Overview

California Institute of Technology, commonly known as Caltech, is a private, research university in Pasadena, Calif. It was established in the 1891 and has over 2,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Caltech's campus spreads across 124 acres.

Caltech offers several degree programs and interdisciplinary programs in different fields, with courses given through the following six academic divisions:

• Division of Applied Science and Engineering
• Division of Biology Social Sciences and Humanities
• Division of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
• Division of Applied Science and Engineering
• Division of Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy
• Division of Planetary and Geological Sciences

Caltech faculty and alumni have received wide recognition for their achievements in science and engineering, including 31 recipients of the Nobel Prize and 53 of the National Medicine of Science, as of December 2008.

The students of California Institute of Technology are members of a number of clubs and organizations. Among those are the Caltech Biodiesel Club, Caltech Community Garden Project, Caltech Net Impact, Caltech Student Solar Initiative, and Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in mathematics, science, engineering, and computer science and engineering.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• High faculty salary.
• Selective admissions.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• High male/female ratio.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Racially diverse student body.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Quarter.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• ROTC.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Cal Tech:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 2,126 in 2009-2010 (2,196 full-time equivalent).

About 58% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 42% of the class.

Undergrads are 42% of enrolled students and graduate students are 58%.

Students under 25 years old represent 64% of the student body. About 0% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Cal Tech provides on-campus housing for 900 of its 2,196 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

The school is in the Southern California Intercoll Athletic Conference for major sports.

Graduate School Focus

Cal Tech offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is STEM Dominant.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (22 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences

ENGINEERING (198 awarded)

• Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

LIBERAL ARTS (15 awarded)

• Economics
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• Social Sciences

MATHEMATICS (43 awarded)

• Computational Mathematics
• Mathematics

MEDICINE (13 awarded)

• Neuroscience

SCIENCE (236 awarded)

• Astrophysics
• Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geochemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Geophysics and Seismology
• Physics
• Planetary Astronomy and Science