Since its foundation in 1978, SISSA has played a pioneering role in Italy’s and international academic landscape. It was the first Italian institution to award the PhD title and the first institution in the world to launch a fully digital, open-access scientific journal. Over the years, SISSA has championed open science, interdisciplinary research, and science communication, introducing new academic formats and fostering innovation across physics, mathematics, and neuroscience. For all these reasons, SISSA has been the ideal working environment for some of the world’s most brilliant minds in physics, mathematics and neuroscience.
SISSA was founded in Trieste in 1978, as the second Scuola Superiore ad Ordinamento Speciale in Italy, following the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. It was the first Italian institution to award the title of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD), anticipating the national doctoral system by seven years.
Envisioned by theoretical physicist Paolo Budinich, SISSA was created as a hub of advanced research and postgraduate training, modeled on international standards of excellence. It aimed to bridge academic education and frontier scientific inquiry in a flexible and international environment.
SISSA has consistently been a pioneer in the Italian academic landscape. It was the first institution in Italy to award the title of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD)—a degree directly inspired by the Anglo-Saxon academic system and distinct from the Italian Dottorato di Ricerca, which was formally established only in 1980 and became operative in 1985.
In 1993, SISSA launched Italy’s first Master’s in Science Communication, opening a new academic field that blended scientific rigor with media, education, and public policy. Just a few years later, in 1997, it co-founded and hosted the editorial office of JHEP – Journal of High Energy Physics, the first fully digital, open-access international scientific journal in theoretical physics. This was soon followed by JCAP and JSTAT, further consolidating SISSA’s leadership in open science and academic publishing.
In the early 2000s, the School created the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art and Sciences (ILAS)—the first academic center in Italy to unite science, humanities, ethics, and communication. In 2005, it founded SISSA Medialab, a spin-off dedicated to science communication, outreach, and publishing, further expanding the School’s impact beyond the research community.
These initiatives reflect SISSA’s deep commitment to innovation—not only in science and education, but also in how knowledge is shared and applied to society.
SISSA is where science moves forward — not by chance, but because some of the world’s most visionary scientists have chosen to work here. From Nobel Laureates to pioneering researchers, those who have truly shaped modern science have found in SISSA the intellectual freedom, international community, and interdisciplinary energy to explore bold ideas and achieve lasting breakthroughs.
- 1978: Founding of SISSA by Presidential Decree (D.P.R. No. 102) and introduction of the international Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) title—years before the official establishment of doctoral degrees in Italy
- 1980s: Beginning of the collaboration with the CINECA supercomputing center
- 1986: Expansion of scientific activity under Director Daniele Amati with the introduction of new research areas
- Early 1990s: Launch of neuroscience research at SISSA
- 1993: Establishment of the Master’s in Science Communication
- 1997: Launch of Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP), the first fully electronic international scientific journal
- 2005: Foundation of SISSA Medialab
- 2010: Relocation to the current headquarters in the Santorio complex
- 2014: Establishment of the Master in High Performance Computing
- 2021: Upgrade of the supercomputing center and expansion of international collaborations
- 2024: Launch of the Master in Data Management and Curation