Training at the IFT
The IFT runs two training programmes, in collaboration with the Department of Theoretical Physics of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM).
Master in Theoretical Physics
The Master has a specialization in core topics of Particle Physics and Cosmology, that takes about 20 students/year. The MSc degree has established itself as referential in Spain within Fundamental Physics — about half of the students come from outside the Madrid area.
PhD programme
The second training structure is the PhD programme. More than 60 early stage researchers work at any given time towards a PhD at IFT premises, where they are offered about 8-10 PhD courses per year, taught by IFT personnel or invited professors from abroad.
Alumni
The IFT makes a concerted effort to keep track of its alumni and to encourage continued interaction and feedback, both with those who remain in academia and those who have thriving careers in other settings. A recently compiled comprehensive set of statistics on IFT alumni can be found here.
In the graph below, for example, we can see the historical flow of alumni since the creation of the IFT.
The number of doctoral defences is currently around 15 per year, a figure that has risen steadily over the years, as shown in the graph above.