2016-2017 Catalog

Exchange Program with the California Institute of Technology

An exchange program between Occidental and Caltech permits full-time students at either school to receive credit for courses taken at the other institution during the fall or spring semesters but not during the summer. The option does not apply to courses that are equivalent to those offered by the home institution, but is designed to enlarge the range of course offerings a student may take. Thus, Occidental students may enroll in such courses as applied science, astronomy, or engineering.

A student in the exchange program must obtain prior approval from his or her advisor, the instructor of the course, and the Occidental and Caltech registrars. The program is usually not open to freshmen. Students must be full-time at Occidental (a minimum of 12 units). Additional tuition payments are not required, but the student may have to pay special fees in connection with certain laboratory courses.

Occidental College will add the course on the current registration as a placeholder but will remove it upon completion of the course and add it as a transfer course.

The Unit conversion from California Institute of Technology to Occidental College is as follows:

Cal Tech units Occidental College Units
0 to 1 unit 0 unit
1 to 5 units 1 unit
6 to 8 Units 2 units
9 to 11 units 3 units
12 units to 15 units 4 units
16 units to 18 units 5 units
19 units to 21 units 6 units

At the completion of an exchange course, appropriate information is recorded on the student’s Occidental transcript as transfer credit.