Graduate student positions in string theory

The String Theory Group has a small number of graduate student openings.
Appointments are made by competition. We especially encourage international
applications from highly-qualified prospective students, both from within and from outside the European Union.
Applicants with an undergraduate background in either Physics or Mathematics will be considered.
Special attention will be given to applicants with a strong background in both disciplines.

Interested undergraduates from within Trinity College should contact the members of the String Theory Group.

Applicants from outside Trinity College should submit the following materials directly to the String Theory Group:

(1) An academic transcript (notarized copy) of all classes taken up to date, listing the final grade obtained in each class.
(2) Notarized copies of the highest academic degree obtained, including any special qualification (such as with Distinction or
Summa/Magna cum Laudae). If studying towards your undergraduate degree, please indicate the expected conferral date;
in this case, you can submit a copy after the degree is received.
(3) A brief curriculum vitae. Please list all relevant prizes and distinctions, including International Math and Physics Olympiads,
National Prizes etc. Attach supporting materials.
(4) List of publications, if any -- include publication journal and/or hep-th preprint number.
(5) Statement of research interests.
(6) Three letters of recommendation.

(*) International applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit a TOEFL score.
This requirement is waved for applicants who studied for at least two years in an English-speaking country.

Special attention will be given to applicants who have at least one publication in a significant international journal.
A good statement of research interest should show some basic familiarity with the main ideas of string theory, and
an incipient research direction. Special attention will be given to the applicants' research promise.

The deadline for applications is March 1st. Final decisions will be made by April 1st.

Notes about research in string theory

Our group's interests focus on mathematical aspects of string theory, so a solid background in Mathematics is
required. A wide background in field theory is also indispensable.

Prospective students should either know or expect to learn the following:

Quantum Field Theory at the level of the textbooks  Ramond,  Field theory: A Modern Primer and
Itzykson &Zuber, Quantum Field Theory

General Relativity at the level of Hawking and Ellis, The large scale structure of spacetime

Differential Geometry at the level of Kobayashi and Nomizu, Foundations of Differential Geometry

Algebraic Topology and fiber bundles at the level of  Spanier, Algebraic Topology;
Milnor and Stasheff, Characteristic classes; Steenrod, The Topology of Fiber Bundles

Riemann Surfaces at the level of Farkas and Kra, Riemann Surfaces

Students interested in Mirror Symmetry will also need to know or learn some of the following:

Commutative Algebra at the level of D. Eisenbud,  Commutative Algebra with a View Toward Algebraic Geometry
and Matsumura, Commutative ring theory

Complex Geometry at the level of Griffiths and Harris, Principles of Algebraic Geometry

Algebraic geometry at the level of Hartshorne, Algebraic Geometry

Homological algebra at the level of Stammbach & Hilton, A course in homological algebra and I. Manin, Methods of homological algebra

Toric Geometry at the level of T. Oda, Convex bodies and algebraic geometry.

Special Topics (spectral sequences, derived categories, Calabi-Yau manifolds and varieties)


Back to the String Theory Group page

TCD School of Mathematics