PhD Courses

The PhD courses are organized in three terms. Courses in common with the TPP curriculum will be held in room 137, while those in common with the AP curriculum will be held in room 135 (first floor). The Coordinator will inform you of any room change when necessary. For what regards the schedule, please consult the Timetable. The total number of credits offered is 66.5.

Furthermore SISSA offers some soft skills courses that all students can take.

First Term: October 1 - December 11, 2025

Course Lecturer Credits Date Room
The Standard Model of particle physics Andrea Romanino 9 Oct 1 - Dec 11 137
Quantum Field Theory I Francesco Benini, Toby Opferkuch 6/11* Oct 1 - Dec 11 137
Foundations of Physical Cosmology Matteo Viel 5 Oct 6 - Nov 7 113
Early Universe Cosmology Piero Ullio 5 Nov 10 - Dec 11 137

Second Term: January 12 - April 2, 2026

Course Lecturer Credits Date Room
Beyond the Standard Model Aleksandr Azatov 8 Feb 9 - Apr 2 137
Advanced GR and QFT in Curved Spacetimes Stefano Liberati 5 Jan 13 - Mar 5 135
Numerical Methods Matteo Viel, Enrico Barausse, Ramiro Cayuso 4 Feb 2 - Apr 2 113
Linear Cosmological Perturbations and CMB anisotropies Carlo Baccigalupi 3 Jan 12 - Feb 18 135
Large Scale Structure Emiliano Sefusatti 3 Mar 2 - Apr 1 113
Gravitational Waves Enrico Barausse 3 Jan 19 - Feb 12 113
Compact Objects Ilia Musco, John Miller 2 Mar 9 - Mar 19 135

Third Term: April 22 - May 28, 2026

Course Lecturer Credits Date Room
Beyond the Standard Model in the Early Universe Takeshi Kobayashi 4 May 4 - May 28 132
Cosmic Ray Physics Piero Ullio 2.5 Apr 27 - May 14 113
Dark Energy Paolo Creminelli 2 May 18 - May 28 135
Introduction to Quantum Gravity Daniele Pranzetti 2 Apr 20 - Apr 30 113
Inflation Mehrdad Mirbabayi 2 May 4 - May 14 135

* The part of the course mandatory for APG students corresponds to 6 credits.

According to SISSA policy, students are encouraged to attend courses offered by other PhD programs. In addition to the courses included in the standard study plan outlined above, students may take a limited number of external courses and sit the corresponding exams. The credits earned can be recognized as substitutes for certain APG courses. To pursue this option, students must submit an individual study plan to the head of the PhD curriculum, which is subject to approval by the PhD board. A non-exhaustive list of recommended courses includes: