The MIST Ph.D. and M.S. in Management of Complex Systems (MCS) is designed to educate a new generation of management scholars with depth in analytical methods and a focus on complexity as the driving force behind issues in management of human-technology systems and in management of coupled human-natural systems.
The program draws upon the multidisciplinary composition of MIST faculty and the interdisciplinary spirit of UC Merced to deliver a distinctive educational experience – one that provides students the flexibility to cross-breed coursework and mentorship with other domains of engineering, science, and social science. Likewise, the program does not require prospective students to have any particular undergraduate degree.
Courses are directly taught by MIST core faculty who have expertise in various facets of adaptive management of complex coupled human and natural systems, including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and public and private enterprises. As such, coursework and thesis projects are aimed at developing management skills tailored for ‘wicked problems’ – those of indeterminate scale and scope requiring interdisciplinary collaboration – that are so often encountered in complex adaptive systems.
Both the sources and solutions to the grand challenges of the 21st century are at the intersection of people, organizations, information, technology, and the natural world. By focusing on this nexus, this program will prepare our students with a valuable skillset for working with other scholars, practitioners, and policy makers in order to address challenges of monitoring, analysis, modeling, entrepreneurship, adaptive management and change leadership that managers and leaders are faced with across a diverse array of public and private organizations.
