Undergraduate Residential Experience
At Caltech we are committed to making sure students are connected to their peers and have the opportunity to live on campus in a community that is social, safe, and supportive.
Campus residences bring together undergraduates from all years to share a diversity of interests, perspectives, and passions, as well as to build unique experiences and traditions that make each residence a home. The residences are one avenue for students to get engaged on campus; students have opportunities to become a student leader for their residence and to plan and organize special activities, events, and traditions that are specific to each facility and community.
Caltech's unique House system consists of eight distinct residential communities which are the locus of many of Caltech's social and cultural traditions. Students also enjoy fashioning their own community experiences in the Marks/Braun and Bechtel residences.
Each house elects officers, known as the Executive Committee, who plan an impressive array of social, cultural, and athletic programs throughout the year. The presidents of the seven houses and the Avery Chancellor form the Interhouse Committee, and along with an elected Chair and the IHC Secretary, oversee matters of common concern for all houses.
All our residential communities offer social support structures that create opportunities for student leadership. Each community is led by upperclass students who serve as:
- Peer Advocates: undergraduates available to discuss personal and academic issues and help create connections with the Counseling Center staff.
- Health Advocates: available to serve as liaisons between the students and the Health Center staff. Health Advocates are undergraduates trained to provide CPR, first aid, basic health care, health education, and peer counseling.
- Title IX
- Orange Watch
- ARC representatives
- SURF ambassadors
Students may live in the house in which they choose to affiliate or they may opt for unaffiliated housing. Caltech will ensure that students who forego initial house affiliation receive housing in one of our unaffiliated housing options, Marks/Braun or Bechtel.
Feel free to contact us directly at ose@caltech.edu with any questions you may have. We are here to help!
The South Hovses are the oldest dormitories on campus. The housing options available are single, double, and triple capacity bedrooms, with the majority of rooms being singles. There are dining halls, lounges, kitchens and other house-specific common spaces throughout the buildings. All bathrooms in the South Hovses are gender neutral.
Ricketts
Members are known as: Skurves
Motto: "Prend moi tel que je suis"
Website: ricketts.caltech.edu
The North Houses were built in 1960 to accommodate the growing student population. The housing options available are double capacity bedrooms, with lofted beds accessible by ladders. There are dining halls, lounges, kitchens and other house-specific common spaces throughout the buildings. There are some gendered and some gender-neutral bathrooms in the North Houses.
Lloyd
Members are known as: Lloydies
Motto: "I live and die for those I love"
Website: lloyd.caltech.edu
Page
Members are known as: Pageboys
Motto: "Spe labor levis, (Et spe vinum gravis)"
Website: its.caltech.edu/~jrpage
Avery is the newest House, built in 1996. The housing options available are single and double rooms, but incoming freshmen live in doubles with adjustable lofted beds. There is a dining hall, lounges, kitchens and other common spaces throughout the building. There are some gendered and some gender-neutral bathrooms in Avery.
Avery
Members are known as: Averites
Motto: "Creativity, integrity, tenacity"
Website: avery.caltech.edu
Bechtel
The Bechtel residence is our newest residence building on campus. The housing options available in Bechtel include 4-, 6-, 8-, and 12-bedroom suites as well as a handful of standalone suite singles. In the suites, residents will each have their own private bedroom and common lounge space with tables, chairs, a sofa, and a micro-fridge, as well as bathroom facilities shared among suitemates. The standalone suite singles are single rooms with a private bathroom.
Marks/Braun
Marks and Braun are two small, conjoined residences located just south of the Center for Student Services (CSS) on campus. Each is comprised of single rooms with shared bathrooms, and a small number of 2-bedroom suites (2 single rooms that share a bathroom). Each area is supported by a Resident Associate.