Pasadena, CA 91125, Top 100 Universities in USA 2014 – Rank – 31, California Institute of Technology In California
Pasadena, CA 91125, Top 100 Universities in USA 2014 – Rank – 31, California Institute of Technology In California
California Institute of Technology
1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States
The California Institute of Technology (or Caltech)[5] is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and engineering. Its 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Although founded as a preparatory and vocational school by Amos G. Throop in 1891, the college attracted influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1921. In 1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities, and the antecedents of NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech continues to manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von Kármán.[6][7] The university is one among a small group of Institutes of Technology in the United States which tends to be primarily devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences.
Despite its small size, 32 Caltech alumni and faculty have won a total of 33 Nobel Prizes (Linus Pauling being the only individual in history to win two unshared prizes) and 70 have won the United States National Medal of Science or Technology.[3] There are 112 faculty members who have been elected to the National Academies. In addition, numerous faculty members are associated with theHoward Hughes Medical Institute as well as NASA.[3] Caltech managed $332 million in 2011 in sponsored research and $1.85 billion for its endowment in 2013.[2][8] It also has a long standing rivalry with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
First year students are required to live on campus, and 95% of undergraduates remain in the on-campus house system. Although Caltech has a strong tradition of practical jokes and pranks,[9] student life is governed by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations. The Caltech Beavers compete in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division III‘s Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
RANKINGS
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| ARWU[40] | 5 |
| Forbes[41] | 18 |
| U.S. News & World Report[42] | 10 |
| Washington Monthly[43] | 39 |
| Global | |
| ARWU[44] | 6 |
| QS[45] | 10 |
| Times[46] | 1 |
Caltech is a small four-year, highly residential research university with a slight majority in graduate programs.[47] The Institute has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges since 1949.[48][49] Caltech is on the quarter system:[50] the fall term starts in late September and ends before Christmas, the second term starts after New Years Day and ends in mid-March, and the third term starts in late March or early April and ends in early June.[51]
Caltech is ranked 1st internationally since 2011 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.[52] Caltech was ranked as the best university in the world in two categories: Engineering & Technology and Physical Sciences.[53][54] It was also found to have the highest faculty citation rate in the world.[55]
Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, a ranking with an emphasis on bibliometric data and scientific research, ranked Caltech 6th in the world and 5th in the U.S. for 2011. Caltech was also found to have the highest score for per-capita performance in that ranking.[56]
In 2012, the Center for World University Rankings ranked Caltech fifth in the world and fourth nationally in its CWUR World University Rankings.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Caltech as the 10th best university in the United States in their 2013 national college rankings, together with Dartmouth College.[57] According to the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools 2011 ranking, “California Institute of Technology headlines the new rankings, with top billing in three categories: chemistry, earth sciences and physics.”[58]
The United States National Research Council released its latest Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs in 2010, and 23 of the 24 graduate programs of Caltech were ranked within the top four programs in the nation in their size quartile as determined by both the R95 and S95 rankings. Of particular note, programs that were placed within the top 10% of all size programs in that field based on an average of the R95 and S95 rank order include Aeronautics, Astrophysics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Bioengineering, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, Geology, Geophysics, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Planetary Science, and Social Science (Economics).[59]
In 2013 a paper published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics ranked Caltech 2nd in the U.S. (after Harvard) for revealed preference.[60] The sample of the study was 3240 high achieving students (students ranked in the top 10% of public high school class or top 20% of private high school class). Rankings were based on number of students who accepted offered admission.
Currently Washington Monthly ranks Caltech as first in the nation in the Bachelor’s to PhD category as well as the Faculty in national academies category.
