PhD in Astrophysics

General

Test Preparation

Discover various courses to make sure you are best prepared for your tests, to get the top grades you are able to.

Student Tests

Discover student tests for higher education admissions.

Introduction

There has never been a better time to work in Astrophysics, a vibrant and competitive discipline in frontier research. Applicants to the Ph.D. program in Astrophysics will first be assessed on the basis of their CV and reference letters. A number of candidates will be invited for an interview on one of the two announced dates. The Ph.D. course consists of 3 to 4 years of study and research. First-year students are required to attend several courses spanning a period from November to May and to take exams in a selection of those courses. At the beginning of the first year, students are assigned a tutor, a SISSA staff member who will advise them on selecting exams and will provide guidance on choosing a research project for their Ph.D. thesis. After completion of the courses, students will start working on their research project under the supervision of one or more SISSA staff members. The Astrophysics group consists of 8 staff members, 7 postdoctoral fellows, and 20 Ph.D. students. All the principal investigators have recognized expertise in the fields of analysis and interpretation of cosmic microwave background and sub-millimetre surveys, large-scale structure surveys, cluster physics, galaxy formation and evolution, dark energy, dark matter, galactic and extragalactic black holes, stellar structure and evolution, high-energy astrophysics, relativistic astrophysics, early Universe physics and gravitation theory. Students will also benefit from close contact with other SISSA groups, such as the Astroparticle Physics and the Theoretical Particle Physics groups, and form connections with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the Trieste Astronomical Observatory (OAT). The main research interests are: Cosmic microwave background Large-scale structure Dark matter and dark energy Galaxy formation and evolution High energy astrophysics and AGN Stellar structure and evolution General relativity and quantum gravity phenomenology Black holes and compact stars The most recent placements after Ph.D. at SISSA: Keele University, UK Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA University of California Berkeley, USA Albert Einstein Institute, Germany Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam, Germany Yale University, New Haven, USA Australia Telescope National Facility, Australia Admission Every year the Astrophysics Ph.D. curriculum hires 5/6 students to attend a three to four year Ph.D. program. The students are selected according to an oral test. Application deadlines, dates, and a number of available positions of the entrance examinations are periodically posted on the Ph.D. announcements webpage, where you can also download the application forms. SISSA makes a contribution towards the travel expenses for attending the exam. Enrollment of all the new students at SISSA and the beginning of classes in the Astrophysics Curriculum will take place in the first decade of November. The normal duration of the Ph.D. program is three years. A fourth year may be allowed when suitably justified. The initial part of the Ph.D. program is based on coursework which is considered to be an integral and necessary part of the research training. Application procedure for EU and non-EU citizens Candidates must apply to be admitted to the standard entrance examination. There is one examination session each year usually in July. Examinations consist of a written test and an oral interview. The list of problems of past entrance examinations can be found in the Entrance exams section. The outcome is usually known on the same day. Candidates must send a paper application form that can be downloaded from the official SISSA announcement web page. Candidates who are not citizens of European Union have two possibilities to be admitted to SISSA as a Ph.D. Student: to pass the regular entrance examination in Trieste (in this case, the application procedure is the one described above for European citizens). to pass a Spring preselection based on academic and scientific qualifications. Students selected in this way will, therefore, be invited by the School to take the regular entrance examination. The School will take care of the expenses of their trip and their permanence in Trieste of two weeks when also the regular entrance examination will take place. Candidates interested in participating in this preselection should send a paper application form that can be downloaded from the official SISSA announcement web page (SISSA announcement).

Featured

DBA in Sustainability Management

Sustainability Management School

Gland, Switzerland; Switzerland Online, Switzerland; Milan, Italy

Student Loans

Discover various options for student loans and financing to help you support your studies.

Student Housing

Discover various options for student accommodation all over the world.

International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA)

All the scientific work carried out by SISSA researchers is published regularly in leading international journals with a high impact factor, and frequently in the most prestigious scientific journals such as Nature and Science. The School has also drawn up over 150 collaboration agreements with the world's leading schools and research institutes. Read less

Trieste

View School Profile

Keystone Scholarship

Discover the options our scholarship can give you.

General Information

Can you send me more information about this program?

Program Dates

When is the application deadline for this program?

What is the start date for this program?

Tuition & Fees

How much does this program cost?

Can I pay for this program in installments?

Program Type & Duration

Is this program available online?

What is the duration of this program?

Is this program offered part-time or full-time?

Study Place

Where is this school located?

Where is the campus located?

Funding

What other funding options do you have for this program?

How to Apply

What documents are required to apply to this program?

What is the admission process for this program?

Language

In what language is this program taught?

PhD in Astrophysics

General

Test Preparation

Student Tests

Student Loans

Student Housing

About the School

International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA)

International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA)

Keystone Scholarship

Ask a Question

General Information

Program Dates

Tuition & Fees

Program Type & Duration

Study Place

Funding

How to Apply

Language

Other