Amsterdam-Brussels-Geneva-Paris Doctoral School

The aim of the Amsterdam-Brussels-Geneva-Paris Doctoral School on “Quantum Field Theory, Strings and Gravity” is to provide first-year PhD students with advanced courses in theoretical physics that help bridge the gap between Master-level courses and the most recent advances in the field. Responsible for the organization as well as for teaching the courses are the ULB, the VUB, the University of Amsterdam, various institutions in Paris led by Ecole Normale Supérieure, and various institutions in Switzerland led by the Swiss network “SwissMap” (ETH, U. Bern, U. Geneva, CERN).

The program typically starts at the end of September/beginning of October and consists of three times three weeks of lectures in three cities among Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva (CERN) and Paris (depending on the year), with a one-week break between the segments. This way, the students are exposed to several institutes, each with their own research and teaching culture, and to professors from the various institutes. Last but not least, they get to meet fellow students from neighboring institutes and countries, who will be their peers and colleagues throughout (and possibly beyond) their PhD studies.

The School is partly supported by the International Solvay Institutes. Students from institutions other than the participating ones are also encouraged to apply, but the number of available places is rather limited since the aim is to keep the total number of students at a reasonable classroom level.