Academic Divisions

Biology & Biological Engineering

Caltech biologists work to reveal nature's mechanisms—how tens of thousands of components act in concert in cells, how organisms grow from single cells, how the brain maintains its consciousness, emotions, and superb computational capabilities, and what happens when any of those processes goes awry.

Chemistry & Chemical Engineering

Caltech's chemists and chemical engineers study nature's most intricate processes on scales from the subatomic to the macroscopic. Their discoveries lead to the creation of revolutionary tools, molecules, and materials for medicine, clean energy, environmental protection, and more. 

Engineering & Applied Science

Caltech's engineers and applied scientists invent the future, working across a wide variety of disciplines and at the fundamental boundaries of science to both conceive and design tomorrow's technologies.

Geological & Planetary Sciences

Whether studying the atmospheres of exoplanets, the minerals of Mars, or earthquakes on Earth, Caltech's geological and planetary scientists use powerful geophysical tools and methods to unravel these phenomenal natural systems and understand the past, present, and future of all our solar system's planets.

Humanities & Social Sciences

The division brings together diverse faculty, from historians to philosophers to economists to neuroscientists, to explore human history and creativity, look at the decisions we make and how we make them, and provide new insights into how we communicate and understand our world.

Physics, Mathematics & Astronomy

Caltech's physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers explore the universe from all perspectives and at all scales. The division brings together experimentalists and theorists, applied and basic scientists, and encourages them to delve into time and space, from today back to the Big Bang, from the cosmos to the subatomic.