While our supplemental application essays and ethical use of AI guidelines for Fall 2024 are available, we are still finalizing our application and requirements which will be live by December 1, 2023.
Why transfer to Caltech?
Take your science and engineering education to the next level. Immerse yourself in one of the world's premier STEM programs. Learn from award-winning faculty in an academic environment emphasizing freedom of inquiry and fearless innovation. Be challenged intellectually by a community of like-minded peers. Become one of society's most innovative thinkers, leaders, and doers. Sound like your place? Learn more about why students choose Caltech.
Who is a transfer student?
Prospective transfer students have completed their secondary education and are enrolled at a college or university other than Caltech where they have earned course credit. Students may not transfer to Caltech during or for their senior year of college.
If you are concurrently (or dual) enrolled in a high school/secondary school and a college or university, you should apply for first-year admission.
What we look for
In evaluating transfer applicants, we do not consider any specific list of course requirements. Instead, we look for students who have taken the STEM coursework needed to succeed on our transfer entrance exams. Courses include those in Caltech's core curriculum.
Entrance exams measure a prospective transfer student's preparation in:
- Calculus of One and Several Variables
- Linear Algebra
- Differential Equations
- Probability and Statistics
- Classical Mechanics and Electromagnetism
- Waves, Quantum Mechanics, and Statistical Physics
Beyond the academic preparations, we want to learn about how you explore STEM outside of the classroom. If you want to learn more about how we evaluate all candidates to Caltech, we have a whole section on what we look for.
How to prepare for Caltech
While you can prepare for entrance exams by reviewing the anticipated subject matter, it's your academic pursuits up to this point that have helped prepare you for Caltech. It's the AP and advanced STEM coursework you elected to take in high school and the STEM coursework you have taken or plan to take at your current college or university.
To learn more, visit our page on Academic Preparation.
For questions about the transfer admissions process, please contact our Transfer Coordinator, Johanna Araujo, at +1 626-395-6341 or ugadmissions@caltech.edu.