PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics

The Ph.D. in Theoretical Particle Physics has always been part of the postgraduate programmes on offer at SISSA. More than a hundred students have obtained a Ph.D. qualification in Theoretical Particle Physics since SISSA started offering the course.

Every year, five students are selected to attend this 3-year programme (plus an extra year, if needed) of study and research. During the first year, students attend about 450 hours of postgraduate courses covering a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from phenomenology to the more formal aspects of theoretical particle physics. Each student has to select a subset of them and pass the relevant exams within the first year.

The main research lines are Physics at the LHC, Physics Beyond the Standard Model, Neutrino Physics, String Theory, the AdS/CFT correspondence and alternative Quantum Theories of Gravity. Students benefit from the rich environment of scientific institutions of the Trieste area, such as the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the Physics Department of the University of Trieste and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN).

By the beginning of the second year, students undertake a research project under the supervision of a SISSA staff member or a scientist working at a partner research institution (such as ICTP and INFN). The Ph.D. degree is typically obtained 3 to 4 years after the beginning of the programme.

During their stay in Trieste, students have the opportunity to interact with about 20 other students from the same Ph.D. curriculum plus hundreds of other international students from the different SISSA groups. In addition, the international environment of the Trieste area includes the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and other international institutions, which makes a Ph.D. in Theoretical Particle Physics at SISSA an unprecedented opportunity for a highly challenging and stimulating experience.

The most recent placements after Ph.D. at SISSA:

• Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
• Princeton University, Princeton, USA
• Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
• Harvard University, Cambridge, USA