Graduate Study

For complete instructions on how to apply please visit the Graduate Office website.

Like all graduate programs at Caltech, the program in Mechanical Engineering is small, highly selective, and research oriented. Admission is preferentially granted to applicants who ultimately intend to pursue the Ph.D. degree.

Ph.D. graduates in Mechanical Engineering have gone on to successful careers both in industry and in academia. Among recent graduates, approximately 30% entered tenure-track academic positions upon graduation, 50% went into industry, and 20% entered postdoctoral research programs. Some of our recent Graduates currently hold tenure-track or tenured faculty positions at MIT, Princeton, Purdue, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, U. Texas (Austin), U. Michigan, U. Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, and other universities worldwide. Graduates who choose an industrial career find employment both in large firms (primarily in the aerospace, energy, and semiconductor industries) and with small high-technology startup companies.

Virtually all graduate students in Mechanical Engineering receive financial support for the duration of their studies, which fully pays tuition and provides a stipend for living expenses. This support may take the form of a fellowship, a teaching assistantship, a research assistantship, or a combination of these options.

Aims and Scope of Graduate Study in Mechanical Engineering

The aim of the Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering at Caltech is to prepare students for research and professional practice in an era of rapidly advancing interdisciplinary technology. The program combines individual depth of experience and competence in a particular chosen major specialty, and a strong background in the basic and engineering sciences, with laboratory and design experience. It strives to develop professional independence, creativity, leadership, and the capacity for continuing professional and intellectual growth.

Original research in mechanical engineering is an essential component of the graduate program. Independent and critical thinking is encouraged by participation in seminars and by discussions with faculty members. Research groups in mechanical engineering are small, creating an environment where students work closely and collaboratively with the faculty.

The degrees of master of science, mechanical engineer, and doctor of philosophy are offered.

Research areas in mechanical engineering at Caltech include mechanics (including active materials, fracture mechanics, and mechanics of materials), mechanical systems (including control and analysis of dynamic systems including microfluidic and optofluidic devices, kinematics, optimization, robotics, and structural design), and fluid and thermal systems (including acoustics, cavitation, chemical vapor deposition, combustion, fluid flow and hydrodynamic instabilities, heat and mass transport, multiphase and multicomponent flows, propulsion, and turbulence). These areas are applied to a rich diversity of problems including bioengineering, control of aircraft engines, design of vehicle structures, granular flows, earthquake occurrence, hyper-redundant robots, jet noise reduction, locomotion and grasping, medical applications of robotics, navigation algorithms, structured design of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), thin film deposition, transportation systems, propulsion systems, and rapid assessment of early designs.

As preparation for advanced study and research, entering graduate students must have a thorough background in undergraduate mathematics, physics, and engineering. An outstanding four-year undergraduate program in mathematics and the sciences may be substituted for an undergraduate engineering course, with the approval of the faculty. The qualifications of each applicant will be considered individually, and, after being enrolled, the student will arrange his or her program in consultation with a member of the faculty. In some cases the student may be required to make up undergraduate deficiencies in engineering science courses. However, in every case the student will be urged to take some courses that will broaden an understanding of the overall field, as well as courses in the specialty. Most graduate students are also required to take further work in applied mathematics.

A PDF of the current Mechanical Engineering brochure is available. Click here.