The Institute offers graduate degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy, and in special cases the degree of Engineer.
The Institute is organized into six academic divisions: Biology and Biological Engineering; Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Engineering and Applied Science; Geological and Planetary Sciences; the Humanities and Social Sciences; and Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.
Graduate work at the Institute is further organized into graduate options, which are supervised by those professors whose interests and research are closely related to the area of the option, within the administrative jurisdiction of one or more of the divisions.
A faculty member serves as the representative for an option. The option representative provides consultation on academic programs, degree requirements, financial aid, etc., and provides general supervision to graduate students in the option. The Committee on Graduate Studies, which includes the option representatives, elected members of the faculty at large, and graduate students appointed by the Graduate Student Council, exercises supervision over the scholastic requirements established by the faculty for all advanced degrees, provides policy guidance to the dean of graduate studies, and certifies all candidates for graduate degrees to the faculty for their approval. A list of the option representatives for the current academic year can be found at registrar.caltech.edu/current-students/option-reps.