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Welcome to the Student-Faculty Programs Office!

Welcome to the Student-Faculty Programs Office! We support Caltech's educational and research mission by providing programs and support for undergraduate research, diversity graduate school recruitment efforts, and effective and inclusive mentoring. We are invested and dedicated to student engagement, growth, and success.

Undergrads, do you want to:

  • Explore your interests by doing cutting-edge research with Caltech faculty through SURF, WAVE, or one of our many undergraduate research programs?
  • Participate in academic and professional development activities, such as networking, connecting with faculty, and graduate school application prep?

Prospective graduate students, would you like to:

  • Learn more about diversity and inclusion efforts at Caltech?
  • Or connect with us at conferences or through other DEI recruitment efforts?

Graduate students, postdocs, and faculty, are you interested in:

  • Building your mentoring toolbox to provide effective and inclusive mentoring?
  • Support DEI efforts by mentoring a WAVE student, participating in graduate DEI recruitment efforts, or serving as a non-research mentor to summer students or incoming graduate students?

Alumni, parents, and friends, would you like to:

If so, you landed at the right place! Please explore our site and reach out if you have any questions, comments, or ideas.

The Student-Faculty Programs Office hosts three annual communication competitions for Caltech undergraduates

  • The Doris S. Perpall SURF Speaking Competition
  • The Gee Family SURF Poster Competition
  • The Joel & Marcella Bonsall SURF Technical Writing Competition

Congratulations to the 2024 Perpall SURF Speaking Competition Winners!

  • First Place: Ishita Mathur with Pablo Moscato (Professor of Computer Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia) and Shinsuke Shimojo (Gertrude Baltimore Professor of Experimental Psychology)
  • Second Place: Virginia (Gigi) H. Pistilli with Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir (Professor of Ecology, University of Iceland) and Bastien C. Papinot (Graduate Student in Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland)
  • Third Place: Kai L. Svenson with Maria Spiropulu (Shang-Yi Ch'en Professor of Physics)

Congratulations to the 2024 Gee Family SURF Poster Competition Winners!

  • Ai-Dan Le with Murray Brightman (NuSTAR Science Operations Specialist)
  • Kieran Vlahakis with Oscar Bruno (Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics) and Manuel Santana (Graduate Student in Applied and Computational Mathematics)
  • Keyu (Sophia) Wan with Aaron Ames (Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Control and Dynamical Systems) and Kejun Li (Graduate Student in Computation and Neural Systems)

Congratulations to the 2024 Joel & Marcella Bonsall SURF Technical Writing Competition Winners!

  • First Place: Sydney Vernon with Tapio Schneider (Theodore Y. Wu Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering), Ronak Patel (Graduate Student in Environmental Science & Engineering), and Dave Bonan (CICOES Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Washington)
  • Second Place: Rohan Kolhe with David Anderson (Seymour Benzer Professor of Biology; Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience Leadership Chair; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Director, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience) and Aditya Nair (Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Biology and Biological Engineering)
  • Third Place: Brayden Noh with Michael Lamb (Professor of Geology) and Kimberly Miller (Laboratory Manager)