SISSA (Trieste)

What kind of institution is it?

SISSA is not a traditional university; it awards no bachelor’s degrees and focuses only on the doctorate (PhD) and advanced research. Small, intensive research groups make for an international scientific environment.

With an academic community of around 350, SISSA is part of a strong science ecosystem in Trieste alongside the ICTP and other research institutions.

The city of Trieste and student life

The capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste is a cosmopolitan port city where Central Europe meets the Mediterranean. The dense international science community makes for a lively setting for doctoral students.

Programmes and levels

Programmes are advanced and research-focused only:

• Physics (astrophysics, condensed matter, statistical physics)
• Mathematics
• Neuroscience
• Data science and computational approaches
• Doctoral (PhD) level only

Admission and selection

Admission rests on a strong academic record, research potential and a selective assessment/examination process. Applications are international and run entirely in English.

Fees, housing and grant

Doctoral students receive a grant (stipend); no tuition fee applies. SISSA thus offers a fully-funded start to a research career.

Language of instruction

Teaching and research are entirely in English. English proficiency is expected for the application; Italian is not required.

Application for Turkish students

Applying from Turkey, for the degree recognition and the official procedures in Italy the Universitaly pre-enrolment, a CIMEA report or a Dichiarazione di Valore are needed. For your academic application file, the sworn translation of your diploma, transcript and supporting documents must stand ready.

Which documents should you have sworn-translated for SISSA (Trieste)?

Applying to SISSA (Trieste) (or to a programme in the same city), most documents issued in Turkey need a sworn Italian translation. The most-translated documents in master’s, doctoral and bachelor’s applications:

• The diploma (bachelor’s/master’s) and, where applicable, the provisional graduation certificate,
• The transcript and the diploma supplement,
• The course contents (where a recognition/compatibility assessment is needed),
• The income and financial documents (for the DSU grant and the ISEE Parificato),
• The statement of intent, CV and references (in Italian or English, by the programme’s language).

The order generally runs: the document is apostilled first, then sworn-translated into Italian from the apostilled version, and where needed the degree recognition (a CIMEA report or the consulate Dichiarazione di Valore) is obtained. For detail see our apostille guide, CIMEA recognition, Dichiarazione di Valore and Universitaly application pages. For document-level detail, the diploma-transcript translation and university application translation pages help.

Frequently asked questions