GSSI L'Aquila: the international PhD school for physics, computer science and social sciences in the heart of the Apennines
The Gran Sasso Science Institute is an elite graduate school entirely dedicated to doctoral and post-doctoral research. With 70% international students, European funding and connections to the Gran Sasso Laboratories (INFN), it trains the world's brightest researchers in particle physics, mathematics, computer science and social sciences.
GSSI: world-class particle physics, computer science and social sciences at the foot of the Gran Sasso
The Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) is a state Graduate School based in L'Aquila, entirely dedicated to doctoral and post-doctoral training in four research areas: physics (connected to the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratories, the world's largest underground particle physics laboratories), mathematics, computer science and social sciences. GSSI does not award bachelor's or master's degrees: it is exclusively an international excellence doctoral school.
GSSI's absolute strength is its connection to the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratories — located under the highest Apennine mountain in Italy, a few kilometres from L'Aquila — where world-class fundamental physics experiments such as XENON, DAMA/LIBRA and OPERA are conducted. All GSSI physics doctoral students have direct access to these unique laboratories. 70% of students are international, with fully EU-funded doctoral fellowships.
Post-doctoral placement exceeds 90%, with GSSI doctoral graduates finding positions at world-renowned universities and research centres (MIT, CERN, ETH Zurich, Max Planck). GSSI is ranked among Europe's most competitive physics doctoral schools. L'Aquila — rebuilt after the devastating 2009 earthquake — is today a vibrant university city, a few kilometres from the Gran Sasso ski slopes and the Adriatic.
Research Areas
GSSI by the numbers
From 2012 to the Gran Sasso: GSSI and the scientific renaissance of post-earthquake Abruzzo
The Gran Sasso Science Institute was born in 2012 as a European Union centre of excellence, within the reconstruction programme for L'Aquila following the devastating earthquake of 6 April 2009 — which caused 309 deaths and the destruction of the historic centre. GSSI's founding was one of the most symbolic investments in the city's cultural and scientific rebirth.
The connection to the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratories (LNGS) is constitutive of GSSI's identity: the laboratories, excavated under the Apennine mountain at 1,400 metres depth, host some of the planet's most advanced fundamental physics experiments. GSSI's presence in L'Aquila transforms the city into a globally relevant physics hub.
In a few years GSSI has built a first-class academic reputation, attracting researchers from worldwide and obtaining European excellence funding. Its doctoral graduates have published in Nature, Science and Physical Review Letters, and many have secured permanent positions at the world's leading universities.
FAQ — Gran Sasso Science Institute – GSSI L'Aquila
Elite PhD programmes in Italy: useful resources
GSSI is Italy's absolute reference for doctoral programmes in particle physics, computer science and social sciences. Explore Italian academic institutions and discover everything about living and studying in Italy.
