The Doctoral Program in Theoretical Physics is based on the growing need for highly qualified scientists to conduct frontier research in the area of physics, contributing to the generation of new knowledge in the discipline and to the scientific development of the country. In addition, its graduates will contribute to the training of new generations of physicists, to the communication and dissemination of science and to teaching in higher education.

The PhD in Theoretical Physics is part of the institutional challenge of advancing to a higher level of complexity, incorporating research and postgraduate development at the doctoral level to contribute with new knowledge and training of researchers in the search for solutions to complex problems. This program is presented as the consequence of the work focused on the consolidation of an academic body with strong research skills in this area, with emphasis on theoretical physics and the interface between physics and mathematics.

This program stands out for its regional vocation. It is conceived with a major presentation of its faculty linked to the Valdivia campus, with presence also in Santiago and Concepción and projection to Puerto Montt, thus offering a new option for advanced training in physics to students from the southern regions of Chile. This program is the first of its kind in the Los Ríos Region, which has the highest number of PhDs in science per capita, thus taking advantage of the great potential of basic research available for the training of new scientists.

The program will focus on the development of three main lines of research, which are proposed to be approached from the field of the fundamental constituents of nature as well as of the universe on a large scale, without prejudice that they may be modified according to the evolution of knowledge and the incorporation of new researchers:

1. Gravitation
2. High Energy Physics