Grants and Writing Resources for California Institute of Technology

A college may nominate up to four sophomores or juniors for the Goldwater Scholarship each year. In 2026 all four Caltech nominees were selected, third-years in astrophysics, physics, bioengineering and computer science, among 454 scholars named nationally. Their projects range from binary stars in globular clusters to engineered protein circuits for cancer therapy.

Summer Research Fellowships

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) have run since 1979, and they work like a grant cycle. Students write a research proposal with a faculty mentor, faculty review it and recommend awards, and fellows spend ten full-time weeks on the project. The 2027 award is $8,354. Fellows file two interim reports, an abstract and a final technical paper approved by the mentor, then give a talk at one of the SURF Seminar Days, which are modeled on a professional technical meeting.

The WAVE Fellows program brings STEM undergraduates who are considering graduate school to campus for the same ten weeks. In 2027 it pays $8,354 plus a $2,000 travel and housing supplement, and fellows attend writing workshops alongside their research.

Prizes for Papers and Talks

Mentors nominate senior SURF fellows for the Joel and Marcella Bonsall SURF Technical Writing Prize, endowed in 1997. Two judges read each final report for clear and concise writing, accurate discussion of results and the work's value to the mentor's research group. Spoken presentations compete for the Doris S. Perpall SURF Speaking Competition, which had 29 semifinalists in 2026, grouped by academic division.

Finished work can also go to the Caltech Undergraduate Research Journal (CURJ). It publishes undergraduate research articles and interviews with faculty.

Funds Outside SURF

Undergraduates, alone or in groups, can propose projects to the George W. Housner Student Discovery Fund. It pays for research separate from SURF (continuations of SURF projects count), travel to present results at conferences and independent study. A committee decides four times a year.

For organized summer study abroad, the Amasa Bishop Summer Study Abroad Fellowship accepts budgets of up to $7,000 for programs of two to ten weeks.

Graduate Fellowships and Prizes

Most Institute fellowships are awarded on merit by the academic divisions, and many cover the first year of graduate study. The Graduate Studies Office manages a small group of named fellowships, and the Institute list also includes the ARCS Scholarship, which adds to the stipend of up to four scholars for as long as three years. The Fellowships Advising and Study Abroad office helps undergraduates and graduate students apply for competitive outside fellowships.

Each year the Milton and Francis Clauser Doctoral Prize goes to the PhD candidate whose research shows the greatest originality. Graduate students are also chosen each fall to give the Everhart Distinguished Graduate Student Lecture, and in 2016 the Caltech Library held its first Three Minute Thesis competition for final-year PhD students.

Writing Help and Thesis Deposit

The Hixon Writing Center, part of the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, books undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs with professional and undergraduate peer tutors. Tutors work on abstracts, proposals, research papers, statements of purpose and slide decks, in person or on Zoom.

PhD theses are submitted electronically, and the library's thesis templates guide covers file naming and title-page logos. Caltech theses are collected in CaltechTHESIS, which holds PhD, Engineer, master's and senior theses.

A SURF technical paper or a PhD thesis bound for CaltechTHESIS can get a final edit from our editors for grammar, consistency and format. See our Caltech dissertation and thesis editing and Caltech essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• The Secret to Better Grades: Starting Your Writing Process Early
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter
• The Results Chapter: Presenting Data with Forensic Clarity