Program overview
Systems science is a discipline that studies the "whole" — it doesn't focus on individual parts, but on how parts interact and how the whole emerges with new behaviors. For example, why does traffic jam happen? Why does information spread so fast on social media? Behind these phenomena lies the logic of systems. At the graduate level, you will learn core courses such as system modeling, complex networks, system dynamics, cybernetics, game theory, etc. Many Chinese universities (e.g., Beijing Normal University, Shanghai University of Technology) have strong research teams in this field, especially good at combining systems science with real data to solve problems in urban traffic, ecological protection, economic forecasting, etc. This major is suitable for students who like mathematics, physics, and computer science, and are also interested in "big problems" in the real world. If you are not satisfied with learning only a narrow direction, but want to master a set of interdisciplinary thinking tools, systems science will give you a cool perspective.