Mission: 

The IDEAS program offers a unique opportunity for students to apply complex systems theory to the study of economic, political, and social institutions.  The PhD program students to apply the core analytic themes of complex systems:  diversity, emergence, learning and adaptation, and interaction structures to problems related to institutional design and performance.   The IDEAS program will bring together diverse, intelligent, creative students and faculty interested in applying ideas from complex systems to  important social issues such as economic and political stability, globalization, terrorism, inequality, culture, social movements, and sustainability.

What IDEAS offers:

Students accepted into IDEAS will receive up to four semesters of support as research assistantships, they will be plugged into existing complex systems research teams at UM and SFI, and they will be encouraged to spend one semester at the SFI during their third or fourth year of the program. IDEAS students will be able to take short courses at UM taught by UM and SFI faculty, they can join virtual UM-SFI mini conferences, and they can participate in CSCS graduate student reading groups and research groups.  These many opportunities will guarantee that IDEAS students will become fully integrated into the community of complex systems scholars at UM and SFI.

Who Should Apply:

The IDEAS program wants eager students interested in our core themes: diversity, emergence, adaptation and learning, and interaction structures.  We have constructed the IDEAS curriculum to appeal to students with novel, interdisciplinary research agendas: such as the implications of systematic social network differences across races and ethnicities or how corporate globalization effects international stability.
Complex systems techniques require moderate levels of mathematical and/or computational sophistication.  Students can expect to learn all required theory and techniques through coursework.
IDEAS welcomes students with diverse points of view, experiences, and skills.  The program hopes to bring new ideas and perspectives into complex systems research.  Accordingly, we encourage women, ethnic and racial minorities, and anyone who brings a unique set of life experiences to the problems we study.

Academic Requirements:

Students admitted to IDEAS will be admitted to and enrolled in a participating department at the University of Michigan.  Currently, this includes economics, political science, public policy, and information, but this list can be expanded.  IDEAS students will work with IDEAS faculty to construct curricula that simultaneously satisfy the core requirements of their home department and the requirements of the CSCS certificate program.  

Additional links of interest:

IDEAS Program University of Michigan 450 Church Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 Phone (734) 763-3301 Fax (734) 763-9267 http://www.cscs.umich.edu/ideas-igert/ ideas-igert@umich.edu

For more information, contact the IDEAS Coordinator: Mita Gibson at 734-615-8990 or msgibson@umich.edu

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The University of Michigan Center for the Study of
Complex Systems

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