History
Founded as Throop University in 1891 in Pasadena, California, and renamed the California Institute of Technology in 1920.
Education
- Caltech's nearly 1,000 undergraduate students can choose from 28 options (majors), spread across six academic divisions. Caltech's program not only builds students' expertise in a core area of study and research, but requires a considerable depth and exposure to basic science, humanities, math, and social science overall as the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary research, business, and society require the ability to make connections across disciplines.
- It also supports more than 1,200 graduate students—distributed across 30 options (majors)—who are working toward MS and PhD degrees, and in special cases the degree of Engineer.
Research
Caltech scientists and engineers invent, use, and share state-of-the-art research tools, supercomputers, and advanced analytical labs, which allow them to think big and create extraordinary research programs. The tools and facilities our people have access to include
- Premier telescopes and observatories around the globe, including the Laser-Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), which made the first direct detection of gravitational waves
- The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its facilities
- Space telescopes such as Spitzer, NuSTAR, WISE, plus IPAC, a science and data center for astronomy
- The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, and its high-energy physics experiments
Career
The Career Development Center is committed to assisting our students, postdocs and alumni with career planning, including career exploration, graduate and professional school advising and job search strategies for full-time employment, internships and related opportunities.
University Ranking
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
7
2024
7 -1
2023
6
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
8 1
2023
9
2022
9
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
10 5
2024
15 -9
2023
6
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
23 -14
2023
9
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Student services
The International Offices are responsible for immigration-related matters for international students and scholars at Caltech and JPL. The International Offices are comprised of three offices, in three separate locations, that serve the international community of students, scholars, and their families at Caltech and JPL.
- International Student Programs
- International Scholar Services
- JPL International Office
Housing services
The Housing Office furthers the goals of Caltech by providing convenient, attractive housing. To this end, the Housing Office guarantees housing for all first year undergraduate students and all first year graduate students. After these guarantees, our priority is to provide transitional housing for newly hired postdoctoral fellows and limited housing for students with families. These rentals are managed by the Housing Office in accordance with these priorities and the current needs of the Institute.
Library services
The Caltech Library is committed to serving the teaching, research, and academic needs of its students, faculty, and staff. Access to collections, borrowing privileges, and use of computers are limited to those affiliated with Caltech.
ICT services
Wireless network
Medical services
Student Wellness Services is committed to supporting the health and emotional well-being of Caltech students. Through individualized treatment planning, consultation, and outreach, we provide direct services and community-level interventions to improve student wellness and allow students to focus on their pursuit of academic success and holistic development.
Sports facilities
The Braun Athletic Center features the main gymnasium (used for intercollegiate competition as well as recreation); a 3,500-square-foot weight room including a Cybex Circuit, free weights and various cardiovascular machines such as treadmills, ellipticals, rowing machines, cross-trainers and upright and recumbent bikes; four racquetball courts; two international squash courts; a multipurpose room with spring floor for group fitness activities and locker rooms with showers.
Student clubs
- Archery Club
- Beaver Buddies
- Caltech American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE)
- Caltech Biotechnology Club
- Caltech C (Chinese Association)
- Caltech Canadian Club
- Caltech Chemistry Club
- Caltech Chess Club
- Caltech Christian Fellowship (CCF)
- Caltech Entrepreneurship Club
- Caltech FPV Drone Club
- Caltech Graduate Christian Fellowship
- Caltech Hillel
- Caltech Jam Room
- Caltech Letters
- Caltech Math Club
- Caltech Premedical Association (CPMA)
Accreditation
Caltech receives regional accreditation from WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Caltech was chosen as part of a select group of institutions to undergo a new accreditation process called the Thematic Pathway for Reaffirmation (TPR) Review. In order to qualify for TPR Review, Caltech met requirements in fiscal responsibility, student learning and success, and sustained quality and has maintained a strong history of accreditation and interaction with WASC. This website serves as an electronic archive for documents submitted to WSCUC as well as the accreditation-related documents received from WSCUC. We invite you to explore the documents and resources available on this site.