Caltech, founded in 1891, is a private institution. It conducts instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and, including its off-campus facilities, is one of the world's major research institutions. Its mission to train creative scientists and engineers is achieved by conducting instruction in an atmosphere of research, accomplished by the close contacts between a relatively small group of students (approximately 900 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students) and the members of a relatively large research staff of 1,000 faculty members. Because of its size, Caltech is able to offer students the advantages of a three-to-one student/faculty ratio and participation in what has been described as "a community of scientists, a scholarly intimacy that cannot be found anywhere else." Its 124-acre campus is located in Pasadena, 10 miles from Los Angeles.