caltech phd programs

Degrees Offered

Caltech offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and a select number of Engineer's and non-degree programs. Consult the Caltech Catalog for more detailed information.

Master of Science The Master of Science degree is a professional degree designed to prepare a student for teaching, for further graduate studies, or for more advanced work in industry. Under normal circumstances, the requirements for the M.S. degree can be completed in one academic year. Not all options admit directly for the M.S. degree, but the M.S. degree may be granted as part of the Ph.D. path or as a terminal degree in special cases.

Engineer's Degree Engineer's degrees are awarded in limited fields. The work for an engineer's degree must consist of advanced studies and research in the field appropriate to the degree desired.

Doctor of Philosophy The Ph.D. must consist of research and the preparation of a thesis describing it, and of systematic studies of an advanced character, primarily in science or engineering. Students who hold a Ph.D. degree from another institution will not be admitted to graduate standing at Caltech to pursue a second Ph.D. degree. A student will not be awarded two Ph.D. degrees from the Institute. At least twelve terms (three academic years) of residence are required for the Ph.D. degree.

Part-Time Degree Programs Part-time graduate study is permitted at the recommendation of the academic option for graduate students who cannot devote full time to their studies. Typically, part-time students are allowed to register only under special arrangements with a sponsoring organization, and such students are subject to the following rules:

• Applicants for the part-time program must submit a regular application form accompanied by a detailed plan of study.
• All research work done for academic credit shall be supervised by a Caltech professorial faculty member.
• In general, students admitted to the part-time program are required to enroll in a minimum of 27 units for a maximum of eight terms.

Neuroscience PhD Options

Caltech is a special place for graduate students where you learn to do Science and think about Science in a small, supportive environment with easy access to world-class professors in a gorgeous setting. Dr. Ardem Patapoutian (PhD '96), Nobel Laureate, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Scripps Research Institute, Investigator, HHMI

Study Neuroscience at Caltech

Neurobiology

Neurobiology - the study of the nervous system - is a highly integrative science. The modern neurobiologist must be conversant with concepts from molecular biology, cell and developmental biology, systems neuroscience, animal behavior, and mathematical modeling. Our goal is that students will graduate with specific research accomplishments--culminating in a dissertation and publications--while also developing the broad understanding required to chart their subsequent forays in brain science.

Computational and Neural Systems (CNS)

How does the brain compute? Can we endow machines with brain-like computational capability? Faculty and students in the CNS program ask these questions with the goal of understanding the brain and designing systems that show the same degree of autonomy and adaptability as biological systems. Disciplines such as neurobiology, electrical engineering, computer science, physics, statistical machine learning, control and dynamical systems analysis, and psychophysics contribute to this understanding. It is the program's objective to provide a broad knowledge of this inherently multidisciplinary field, while at the same time requiring an appropriate depth of knowledge in the particular field of the thesis research.

Social and Decision Neuroscience

Social and Decision Neuroscience (SDN) is an interdisciplinary research program which is part of Caltech's broader neuroscience initiative spearheaded through the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience. SDN includes faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students from a variety of disciplines who are interested in how humans decide what to do in a range of decisions with important personal consequences. The SDN graduate option is designed to prepare students to do outstanding innovative research in behavioral and social neuroscience.

Bioengineering

Bioengineering research at Caltech focuses on the application of engineering principles to the design, analysis, construction, and manipulation of biological systems, and on the discovery and application of new engineering principles inspired by the properties of biological systems. Areas of research emphasis include: biodevices, bioimaging, bioinspired design, biomechanics, biomedical engineering, cell and tissue engineering, molecular programming, synthetic biology, and systems biology. The goal of the doctoral program is to prepare students to become leading scientists and engineers in academia and industry.

Faculty and laboratories in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering and affiliated programs at Caltech provide outstanding opportunities to carry out creative and innovative work in fundamental, translational, and applied research across a broad spectrum of life sciences. The Biology graduate program provides each student with the opportunity to pioneer cutting-edge research and to take advanced major and cross-disciplinary course work, providing well-rounded and integrated training in biology, along with specialized instruction in areas of particular interest.

Hear the Sounds of Planet 9 in New Symphony

In 2016, Caltech planetary scientists Konstantin Batygin (PhD '12) and Mike Brown proposed evidence for a new planet five to 10 times the size of Earth and lurking over 20 billion miles from the Sun (10 times farther than Neptune's orbit). The duo called the unseen body "Planet 9."

On May 17 and 18, the public can hear a symphony inspired by the Planet 9 hypothesis. Composed by Miami Symphony conductor Eduardo Marturet and performed by the Caltech orchestra, the piece features a guitar solo played by Batygin.

Marturet and Batygin met in 2017 after both received awards from the Genius 100 Foundation. They struck up a friendship, and Marturet was inspired by Batygin's research to write an extension of Gustav Holst's classic 1918 symphony The Planets, which features seven movements inspired by the solar system, to include Planet 9.

"The symphony masterfully portrays the intellectual tug-of-war inherent in theoretical work—exploring the gravitational dynamics of our solar system with both struggle and exultation," remarks Batygin. "It also embraces a more avant-garde narrative, reflecting the thrill of the hypothesis evolving beyond its origins, almost taking on a life of its own."

The emotional roller coaster of joy and sorrow has been palpable. In the eight years since Brown and Batygin first proposed the hypothesis, the quest for Planet 9 has intensified. Researchers have refined the original evidence and bolstered it with sophisticated numerical models of the underlying physical mechanisms. Despite these efforts, Planet 9 has evaded direct discovery.

However, this month, Batygin and Brown, along with Alessandro Morbidelli at Collège de France and David Nesvorny at the Southwest Research Institute, have demonstrated a new line of evidence for Planet 9's existence—and it is the most statistically significant evidence to date. In a new paper titled "Generation of Low-Inclination, Neptune-Crossing TNOs by Planet Nine," the team predicted that if Planet 9 exists at its proposed mass and orbit, its gravitational influence must give rise to a distinct population of long-period trans-Neptunian objects, bodies whose orbits cross through the orbit of Neptune. By comparing the observed census of 17 such objects with the most advanced Planet 9 simulations to date, the team demonstrated that these objects' orbits could not be attributed to other effects, such as the galactic tide or passing stars. The compelling alignment of observational data with the theoretical predictions of the Planet 9 hypothesis, on the other hand, robustly supports the object's presence in our solar system.

"[Konstantin's] expertise and passion for exploring the cosmos infused the composition with a sense of wonder and curiosity," says Marturet. "His contributions serve as a reminder of the boundless creativity and innovation that emerge when different disciplines intersect."

The Planet 9 symphony performance is free and open to the public. More information can be found here: /campus-life-events/calendar/caltech-glee-club-and-chamber-singers-concert-3

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