STRUCTURE OF THE GRADUATE STUDIES


The graduate studies are structured as follows

The first year is mainly devoted to attending courses, which last year (1994-95) were

1. Elementary Particle Physics.
2. Theoretical Physics.
3. Condensed Matter Physics.

The first year graduate students have to attend all three courses; a written and an oral exam must be passed toward the end of October. Additional courses are also supplied but are not compulsory and do not end with an exam. During the first year the graduate student has to choose a research field within the research activities which are developed in Pisa.

The second and third year have no compulsory courses. At the end of the second year the graduate student has to write a short report about his research activity. This report is submitted to an expert which gives an evaluation on how the research work is progressing.

At the end of the third year a thesis has to be written. In exceptional cases, if the research program is not sufficiently developed, a further year is allowed (without salary) to the graduate student to write his thesis. The discussion of the thesis is held in two stages. The first a the end of January in front of a committee of professors of Pisa and other Italian Universities; the second later in the year in Rome (as a rule) in front of a National Committee.

Last revised: 22 January 1996.