California

California Institute of Technology

California
#31 / #15
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#9
Most Desirable School
Private research university located in Pasadena, California, USA

California Institute of Technology Featured Rankings

About California Institute of Technology

By James Barham, PhD

The California Institute of Technology (universally known as “Caltech”) is located in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena. It was originally founded as a vocational school, but took on the complexion of an institute at the cutting edge of scientific discovery quite early in its history.

The inflection point probably came with the move of Alfred Amos Noyes from MIT (where he had been serving as acting-President) to Caltech in 1919. Noyes, who had studied chemistry under Wilhelm Ostwald at the University of Leipzig, taught chemistry at Caltech for 17 years, until his death in 1936.

During his tenure at Caltech—which assumed its present name in 1921—Noyes was responsible for revising the science curriculum in line with the latest advances in Germany, whose universities were the best in the world at that time. Noyes was also very active in institution-building at the national level (he was one of the founders of the National Research Council) and in recruiting both distinguished older and promising younger science faculty for Caltech.

For example, together with his friend, the distinguished astronomer George Ellery Hale (who discovered that sunspots produce magnetic fields, and who had preceded him to Caltech), Noyes persuaded the outstanding physicist Robert A. Millikan to move there in 1921, from the University of Chicago. Two years later, Millikan won the Nobel Prize for devising his classic “oil-drop experiment”—still described in many first-year physics courses—to measure the strength of the elementary charge of the electron.

Another early mover-and-shaker of science at Caltech was the Hungarian-born physicist and aeronautical engineer, Theodore von Kármán, who arrived in Pasadena in 1930, and went on to found there what eventually became the world-famous Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Yet another highly significant, Caltech-connected scientist was the astrophysicist Allan Sandage, who was the first person to come up with a good estimate for the value of the Hubble Constant. Sandage went on to make a large number of pathbreaking discoveries regarding the large-scale structure of various galaxies, and of the universe as a whole.

These early triumphs were only the beginning of an ever-growing roll call of great names in science. Altogether, some 74 individuals connected to Caltech have won the Nobel Prize—far too many for us to name here.

However, some of the highlights we must mention—just for physics—include:

  • Albert Einstein
  • Hendrik Antoon Lorentz
  • Albert Michelson
  • Rudolf Mössbauer
  • C.V. Raman
  • Richard Feynman
  • Murray Gell-Mann
  • William Shockley
  • Charles Townes
  • Kenneth B. Wilson
  • Kip Thorne

For the other Nobel Prizes, the following Caltech-associated recipients, among many others, are especially noteworthy:

  • Linus Pauling and Martin Karplus—chemistry
  • T.H. Morgan, George Beadle, Max Delbrück, Howard Temin, Roger Sperry, Renato Dulbecco, David Baltimore, James D. Watson, Jacques Monod, Niels Jerne, and Barbara McClintock—physiology or medicine
  • Robert Merton, Vernon Smith, & Leonid Hurwicz—economics

It is worth noting that Linus Pauling also won the Nobel Peace Prize. Pauling is only person in history to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.

Finally, mention must be made of Fields Medalist Edward Witten, an important theoretical physicist as well as mathematician, who has been a Visiting Professor at Caltech.

In spite of the formidable reputation of much of its faculty, with its relatively modest size (around 2200 students) Caltech is in many ways more reminiscent of a small liberal arts college than of a behemoth institution like its east-coast rival, MIT. For one thing, Caltech’s small 3:1 student-faculty ratio is extremely good, ensuring that its students (who are themselves among the best the nation has to offer) really get to know their professors.

According to Wikipedia, The California Institute of Technology is a private research university in Pasadena, California. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States which are strongly devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. Due to its history of technological innovation, Caltech has been considered to be one of the world's most prestigious universities.

California Institute of Technology's Online Degrees

California Institute of Technology Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceGraduation Rate
16,6263%94%

How Much Does California Institute of Technology Cost To Attend?

Tuition (in-state)
$60,864
Price by Family Income
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$-1,012
30K - 48K$1,721
48K - 75K$4,367
75K - 110K$14,886
110K+$48,070

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

How Much Do California Institute of Technology Graduates Make?

If you graduate from California Institute of Technology, then you can expect to earn an average of $106,300 per year.

California Institute of Technology's Demographics

Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
2,5011,0141,487

Where is California Institute of Technology?

California Institute of Technology is located at 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena CA 91125

How Safe is California Institute of Technology?

Pasadena has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.

What Is California Institute of Technology Known For?

California Institute of Technology is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

California Institute of Technology's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Physics
#8
World Rank
#12
Historical Rank
#6
USA Rank
physics Degrees
Chemistry
#14
World Rank
#28
Historical Rank
#7
USA Rank
chemistry Degrees
Earth Sciences
#22
World Rank
#34
Historical Rank
#9
USA Rank
earth-science Degrees
Computer Science
#14
World Rank
#15
Historical Rank
#10
USA Rank
computer-science Degrees
Mathematics
#27
World Rank
#47
Historical Rank
#11
USA Rank
math Degrees
Biology
#22
World Rank
#34
Historical Rank
#11
USA Rank
biology Degrees
Engineering
#17
World Rank
#18
Historical Rank
#12
USA Rank
engineering Degrees
Economics
#120
World Rank
#139
Historical Rank
#34
USA Rank
economics Degrees
History
#167
World Rank
#189
Historical Rank
#66
USA Rank
history Degrees
Business
#189
World Rank
#191
Historical Rank
#74
USA Rank
business Degrees
Literature
#237
World Rank
#289
Historical Rank
#94
USA Rank
literature Degrees
Political Science
#317
World Rank
#331
Historical Rank
#94
USA Rank
political-science Degrees
Philosophy
#304
World Rank
#350
Historical Rank
#97
USA Rank
philosophy Degrees
Sociology
#498
World Rank
#510
Historical Rank
#140
USA Rank
sociology Degrees

Who Are California Institute of Technology's Most Influential Alumni?

California Institute of Technology's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Physics, Computer Science, and Engineering. Here are some of California Institute of Technology's most famous alumni:

Donald Knuth
Donald Knuth
An American computer scientist, (1938 - ), Wisconsin.
Linus Pauling
Linus Pauling
An American scientist.
John McCarthy
John McCarthy
An American computer scientist and cognitive scientist.
William Shockley
William Shockley
An American physicist and inventor.
Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland
An American computer scientist and Internet pioneer.
Kip Thorne
Kip Thorne
An American physicist.
Benoit Mandelbrot
Benoit Mandelbrot
A Polish-born, French and American mathematician .
Vernon L. Smith
Vernon L. Smith
An American economist.
David Bohm
David Bohm
An American theoretical physicist.
L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
An American non- and speculative fiction writer.
Robert C. Merton
Robert C. Merton
An American economist.
Serge Lang
Serge Lang
A French-American mathematician .

Who Are California Institute of Technology's Most Influential Faculty?

California Institute of Technology's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Physics, Computer Science, and Engineering. Here are some of California Institute of Technology's most famous alumni:

Terence Tao
Terence Tao
An Australian-American mathematician.
Fei-Fei Li
Fei-Fei Li
An American computer scientist.
Emmanuel Candès
Emmanuel Candès
A French statistician.
Lior Pachter
Lior Pachter
A Computational biologist.
Thomas Sterling
Thomas Sterling
An American computer programmer.
Ben Green
Ben Green
A British mathematician.
Nets Katz
A Mathematics professor.
Sergei Gukov
A Russian physicist.
Peidong Yang
An American chemist.
Vladimir Markovic
Vladimir Markovic
A Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology..
Steven Gubser
An American physicist.
Jeremy Kahn
Jeremy Kahn
An American mathematician.