Pasadena, United States

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is listed as QS 2026 rank 10. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has 9 source-backed AI policy claim records from 2 official source attributions. The public record preserves original-language evidence snippets, source URLs, snapshot hashes, confidence, and review state.

Last checkedMay 5, 2026Last changedMay 6, 2026Review: Agent reviewedConfidence95%

Public JSON Citation rules Dataset access

Reviewed claims9Candidate claims0Official sources2

Candidate claims are source-backed records pending review. They are not final policy conclusions and are not legal or academic integrity advice.

Reviewed claims

9 reviewed public claim

Last changed: May 6, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

All Fall 2026 applicants must review Caltech's guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting their supplemental essays. Failure to comply with the Ethical Use of AI guidelines may result in the rescission of your admission to Caltech.
Source: Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a
Evidence locator: Opening paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

What are some examples of unethical uses of AI for Caltech admissions essays? - Copying and pasting directly from an AI generator - Relying on AI generated content to outline or draft an essay - Replacing your unique voice and tone with AI generated content - Translating an essay written in another language
Source: Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a
Evidence locator: Unethical uses section

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

What are some examples of ethical uses of AI for Caltech admissions essays? - Using AI tools, like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, to review grammar and spelling of your completed essays - Generating questions or exercises to help kick start the brainstorming process - Using AI to research the college application process
Source: Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a
Evidence locator: Ethical uses section

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

At present, students submitting work for HSS courses may use generative AI tools only in ways that are explicitly allowed by the course instructor in the course materials. Any usage that is not specifically allowed should be assumed to be disallowed.
Source: HSS Policy on Generative AI

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 624a5b6b1d3e5ae32c1eb84dd677f3a76f1c33d1ee776017b6945362c286713b
Evidence locator: Second paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

This policy applies to all assignments, including major papers and exams as well as smaller assignments like discussion board posts, reflections, and problem sets.
Source: HSS Policy on Generative AI

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 624a5b6b1d3e5ae32c1eb84dd677f3a76f1c33d1ee776017b6945362c286713b
Evidence locator: Second paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

The Undergraduate Faculty Admissions and Graduate Studies committees convened and have approved of the following ethical guidelines for the use of AI in the Fall 2026 application cycle. As access to AI continues to grow and the technology evolves, so will our recommendations and expectations for future application cycles.
Source: Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a
Evidence locator: Committee approval paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

Students will also be expected to follow specific course guidance for documenting any permitted use of these tools.
Source: HSS Policy on Generative AI

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 624a5b6b1d3e5ae32c1eb84dd677f3a76f1c33d1ee776017b6945362c286713b
Evidence locator: Second paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

Caltech students, faculty, and staff are guided by the Honor Code and policies of AI use as an academic tool by students will be determined by individual departments and/or individual faculty.
Source: Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a
Evidence locator: Final paragraph

Last changed: May 5, 2026

Original evidence

Evidence 1

In our teaching, HSS instructors prioritize student learning, and this commitment drives our policies on the use of generative AI in the classroom. Generative AI may promote learning in some contexts and impede it in others.
Source: HSS Policy on Generative AI

Source language: English (en)
Snapshot hash: 624a5b6b1d3e5ae32c1eb84dd677f3a76f1c33d1ee776017b6945362c286713b
Evidence locator: Opening paragraph

Candidate claims

0 machine or needs-review claim

Candidate claims are not final policy conclusions. They preserve source URL, source snapshot hash, evidence, confidence, and review state so the record can be audited before review.

Official sources

2 source attribution

HSS Policy on Generative AI

hss.caltech.edu

Source URL: https://www.hss.caltech.edu/hss-policies/hss-policy-on-generative-ai
Snapshot hash: 624a5b6b1d3e5ae32c1eb84dd677f3a76f1c33d1ee776017b6945362c286713b

Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants

admissions.caltech.edu

Source URL: https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/supplemental-application-essays/ethical-use-of-ai-guidelines-for-fall-applicants
Snapshot hash: 834763ce2fb3410531a090d61fe4a9ff7765db3e13ff1a73f7c8010c2a15185a

Back to universities

University AI Policy Tracker. "California Institute of Technology (Caltech) AI Policy Tracker record." Last checked May 5, 2026. https://eduaipolicy.org/universities/california-institute-of-technology

Versioned university record with claims, evidence, source attribution, review state, confidence, and citation fields.

2 source attribution record.

Tracker metadata is open licensed. Official source documents, page text, PDFs, and other source materials retain their original rights and terms.

Tracker metadata: CC-BY-4.0

This tracker is not legal advice, not academic integrity advice, and not an official university statement unless a linked source is the university's own official page.

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Review state describes workflow status. Confidence is a separate machine-assessed support score.

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Citation-ready overview

Reviewed claims

Caltech admissions requires all Fall 2026 applicants to review its admissions guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting supplemental essays. Failure to comply may result in rescission of admission.

Caltech admissions prohibits applicants from copying and pasting directly from an AI generator, relying on AI-generated content to outline or draft essays, replacing their unique voice with AI-generated content, or translating essays via AI.

Caltech admissions permits applicants to use AI tools like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor for grammar and spelling review of completed essays, to generate brainstorming questions or exercises, and to research the college application process.

In Caltech's Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) division, students may use generative AI tools only in ways explicitly allowed by the course instructor in the course materials. Any usage not specifically allowed should be assumed to be disallowed.

The Caltech HSS generative AI policy applies to all assignments including major papers, exams, discussion board posts, reflections, and problem sets.

Caltech admissions AI guidelines were approved by the Undergraduate Faculty Admissions and Graduate Studies committees for the Fall 2026 application cycle, and may evolve for future cycles.

Caltech HSS students are expected to follow specific course guidance for documenting any permitted use of generative AI tools.

At Caltech, AI use policies for student coursework are determined by individual departments and/or individual faculty, not by a university-wide policy.

The Caltech HSS generative AI policy states that generative AI may promote learning in some contexts and impede it in others, and instructors prioritize student learning in setting these policies.

Candidate claims

Official sources

HSS Policy on Generative AI

Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions AI Policy: Guidelines for Fall Applicants