R1 ResearchPrivate nonprofit

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West
Acceptance
2.6%
-2.0pp vs R1 Research
6-yr Graduation
94%
-1.0pp vs R1 Research
Enrollment
2,430
peer median 18,625
Avg net price
$18,902
-$65 vs R1 Research
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About

The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences.

Admissions funnel

How selective is this institution, and how many admitted students choose to enroll?

Applied
13,856
13,856 candidates competed
Admitted
356
2.6% acceptance rate
Enrolled
218
61.2% yield

Outcomes & equity

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
94%-1.0pp vs R1 Research
4-year graduation
77%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
94%
Full-time retention
97%

Pell equity

4.0pp gap
Pell recipients
96%
Non-Pell
100%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

What families actually pay

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$1,667
$30–48k$1,023
$48–75k$7,003
$75–110k$22,073
$110k+$56,275

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$18,902
vs R1 Research median $18,967
Pell recipients
0.0%
Federal loans
3.6%

Academic programs

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs42
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

591 total
01Engineering
24541.5%
02Physical Sciences
15926.9%
03Computer Sciences
9616.2%
04Biological Sciences
386.4%
05Mathematics
264.4%
06Social Sciences
203.4%
07Multi/Interdisciplinary
50.8%
08Business
20.3%
09Philosophy/Religion
00.0%
10English Language
00.0%

Enrollment & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
2,430
12-mo unduplicated
2,548
Undergraduate
1,044
Graduate
1,044

Gender split

Men
61%1,557
Women
39%991

Race / ethnicity composition

Asian
35.4%
White
19.9%
Hispanic
19.0%
Non-resident
12.3%
Two or more
9.0%
Black
3.7%
Unknown
0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Faculty

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
3.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
325

CIT vs IPEDS peer group

The peer institutions CIT selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectCalifornia Institute of Technology
94%2.6%2,430$18,902R1 Research
Carnegie Mellon University
94%11.7%15,888$31,671R1 Research
Columbia University in the City of New York
96%4.0%35,173$20,148R1 Research
Cornell University
95%8.8%26,793$32,337R1 Research
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
94%14.1%53,363$13,289R1 Research
Harvard University
98%3.6%30,259$16,816R1 Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
96%4.5%11,886$19,813R1 Research
New York University
88%9.2%56,832$35,035R1 Research
Princeton University
98%4.6%9,137$10,555R1 Research
Rice University
95%8.0%8,961$12,640R1 Research
Stanford University
92%3.6%18,625$12,136R1 Research
University of California-Berkeley
93%11.0%45,882$14,979R1 Research
University of Chicago
96%4.5%18,566$18,967R1 Research
University of Pennsylvania
97%5.4%29,109$31,229R1 Research
Yale University
96%3.9%15,564$27,818R1 Research
Peer group median95%4.6%18,625$18,967

Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Institutional Research Office

The mission of Caltech's Institutional Research Office is to support campus leadership and community members by providing data from a variety of sources to inform decision making and process improvement.

Visit IR office page

Documents & reports (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni (30)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Marc Aaronson
    Physics and Astronomy
  • George O. Abell
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Eric G. Adelberger
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Berni Alder
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Carl D. Anderson
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Eric Betzig
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Andrea M. Ghez
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Donald A. Glaser
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Peter Shor
    Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Eric Becklin
    Physics and Astronomy
  • Charles R. Alcock
    Physics and Astronomy
  • James M. Bardeen
    Physics and Astronomy
Showing 112 of 30
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