What does it cost me to apply?

Zero. Really. The Caltech application lists an application fee for 2002 admissions. If you apply online you will also be asked to pay a fee. If you are a U.S. resident, we promise that the fee *will be* waived for you, and paid from our admissions budget. When you send in your admissions materials, include a letter with salutation: "Dear Graduate Office:", stating that you would not otherwise have applied, or that the fee is a hardship for you. A couple of sentences will do, well worth $50 or so. We do not discriminate against applicants who have requested waivers for whatever reason. In fact, we admire your courage since you may have a natural suspicion that your odds are better if you send money. (Sorry, we can't refund money after you already sent it.) Historically there has been no application fee for graduate applications to Caltech, and we are trying to maintain this spirit within the Materials Science option.

How are offers of admissions decided?

Completed applications are reviewed by the Materials Science faculty and rated. The undergraduate transcript is generally given the most weight, followed by letters of recommendation and GRE test scores. The statement of interest is not as critical as is often thought -- most students have a range of interests that can accommodate a range of research opportunities. (Every year a couple of students write ridiculous statements for the purpose of attracting attention to their application. This is poor policy. Don't do it.) The ultimate decision to accept a graduate student also weighs the research interests of the faculty, the abilities and interests of the top applicants, and the amount of financial support available that year for new students.

What about financial support?

All students (foreign and domestic) who are admitted for graduate study in Materials Science are offered financial stipends and tuition support. We encourage students to apply for "outside fellowships" for which they qualify such as NSF, DoD, GEM, Hertz, NSERC (Canada). Besides helping us financially, these outside fellowships will look good on your future resume.

What about support for the second and later years?

In the past 12 years there have been no cases where the financial support for a second year student was less than the support for the first year. Most second year students are supported as research assistants, as opposed to fellowship support for first year students. This is rarely an issue, however, since second year students should be engaged in research and should be formulating ideas for their Ph.D. thesis. In many cases the support for second year students is significantly higher than for their first year because some second year students elect to serve as teaching assistants to augment their income and gain teaching experience. There have been a couple of cases where the stipends for very senior students (>5 years) have been reduced, but this is done only in individual cases.

Do I have to take the Graduate Record Examination?

Yes, you must take it, but you do not have to take a subject test.

I am a foreign student. Do I have to take the TOEFL?

Yes, or you may take the IELTS test. We expect students to be able to understand and use English. English as a spoken (not merely written) language is required for Graduate Teaching Assistantships, which are one form of graduate support that can be offered to students. ESL (English as a Second Language) classes are available. To advance to Ph.D. candidacy, a student must "demonstrate the power of clear and forceful self-expression in both oral and written English".

Is it a lot of work to apply?

Most students now use the on-line application procedures of http://www.embark.com/, which makes it easy to prepare duplicate applications. In general, we request only information, not presentation. You can photocopy your application to another school and send it to us, provided it contains the information we request on our application forms. You don't even have to bother reprinting your statement of interest from another school. Recently a student was admitted with full financial support even though his statement expressed a desire to attend "University X" rather than Caltech. (It was otherwise a fine statement.) We do require an official transcript and letters of recommendation, and you must sign something that says you are applying to Caltech.

Will I get a Ph.D. degree, or will the faculty try to "weed me out?"

The rite of passage in the Ph.D. program is the "candidacy examination." All graduate programs have an examination such as this one. The Caltech format is an oral examination, taken in front of 5 faculty at the end of the second year of graduate study. This is a serious examination. It takes up to 3 hours, and all students remember it in detail for the rest of their lives. Since we admit only excellent students, however, the failure rate is well below 10%. More students leave the program for personal reasons than academic ones.
In all cases where the student's adviser has left Caltech, the graduate students were able to transfer to another group and complete the Ph.D. program.

Do applications have to be received by January 15th?

Yes, almost. There are frequently more qualified applicants than available openings. Applications which are completed on time are reviewed earlier. Even if your application is excellent, when it arrives late other strong applicants will have been reviewed ahead of you. (A somewhat incomplete application is preferable to a perfect late application.)

I don't know if I qualify for Caltech. How do I know if I'll be accepted?

We make offers to students we think will succeed at Caltech. While we do require a strong math and science background, there is room for both students who are strong in laboratory work and students who are strong in theoretical work. Remember, application is free.

How many openings are there?

The number varies. As a practical matter, our policy of supporting all graduate students with aid such as fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships limits the number of students who can be admitted. We would like to be able to admit more students, but for each student we admit we must already have financial support.

Does Caltech accept transfers from other schools?

Because we have limited space in our program, we rarely accept transfers into our graduate program from graduate programs at other schools. We have different prerequisites from other schools, so transfer students may need additional courses to qualify for the Ph.D. candidacy.

Does Caltech admit students before fall?

We often admit new students in the summer, before school starts. Normally we do not admit students in the winter or spring terms.

If I was turned down because of lack of space, can I reapply?

Yes, but the competition starts anew. If you reapply, please send additional letters of recommendation (and new transcripts if you have continued your education) to show what you have done in the intervening time.

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