  The idea of GUT implies that the universe went through a series of phase
transitions during which topological defects are expected to form. We
investigate here the genericity of cosmic strings formation in realistic SUSY
GUTs models. We conclude that all acceptable symmetry breaking schemes produce
cosmic strings after the last inflationary phase. Generically, as they form at
the end of inflation, they have a mass of order of the GUT scale. Since
cosmological data coming from CMB measurements do not show evidence for such
strings, they constrain GUT scale physics.
