Complex Systems Summer School at the Santa Fe Institute

Program Overview

Complex Systems Summer School (CSSS) offers an intensive four-week introduction to complex behavior in mathematical, physical, living, and social systems. CSSS brings together graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professionals to transcend disciplinary boundaries, take intellectual risks, and ask big questions about complex systems. The residential program comprises a series of lectures and workshops devoted to theory and tools, applications-focused seminars, and discussions with faculty and fellow participants. CSSS participants put what they learn from these didactic sessions into practice through group research projects, conducted throughout the program and often extending into manuscripts and longer-term collaborations. CSSS provides an unparalleled opportunity for early-career researchers to expand their professional networks, produce a novel research product, and gain valuable experience working in transdisciplinary teams.

Dates & Times

Summer School period: June 8 - July 4 , 2025.

Summer School is a full-time (all-day) commitment. All participants are expected to attend the entire program in person.

Registration Fee

CSSS is made possible by registration fees and the generous support of the McKinnon Family Foundation and Darla Moore Foundation.

The registration fee for participants from academic institutions: $4,500.

The registration fee for participants from the corporate/private sector: $6,000.

The registration fee covers course-related costs, accommodations, and meals. Students are responsible for the cost of travel.

Participants generally secure funding to attend from their home institution, or sometimes from a third-party funding source. Once accepted, participants may apply for partial or full registration fee waivers from SFI based on need. Please read more under CSSS FAQs.

Program Goals

• Develop a deeper understanding of the theory and methods used to describe and predict the behavior of complex systems.
• Explore the latest applications of complex systems science to diverse research questions.
• Collaborate on a transdisciplinary research project in complex systems science.
• Connect with future colleagues and collaborators and the SFI research community.

Venue

The Summer School sessions take place on the campuses of the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) and the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Participants are accommodated in student dormitories on the IAIA campus.The IAIA campus is located in a beautiful Southwest high desert setting with mountain views, extensive walking trails, and quiet places for contemplation, and a short drive to the SFI campus.

Staff & Faculty

• Program Director

Program Director Dave Feldman is a professor of physics and mathematics at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. He has been involved in CSSS since 2004. Feldman served as co-director of CSSS Beijing from 2006 to 2008 and has directed CSSS in Santa Fe since 2017. He has published two books, an introductory textbook on chaos and fractals and a book on dynamical systems that is part of the Primers in Complex Systems series. Feldman is a major contributor to Complexity Explorer, where you can take his courses on Dynamical Systems and Chaos and Fractals and Scaling.

• SFI Faculty and Invited Experts We are in the process of scheduling faculty speakers for 2025. Currently confirmed speakers include: Liz Bradley, Simon DeDeo, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Chris Kempes, David Krakauer, Melanie Mitchell, Brandon Ogbunu, Orit Peleg, Sam Scarpino, Fernanda Valdovinos, Andreas Wagner, Sara Walker, Geoffrey West, Hyejin Youn.

Audience

Applications are accepted from graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and professionals in any discipline, including fields not traditionally represented in the sciences (e.g., the humanities or arts) who feel their work connects to a rigorous study of complex systems. If you are a journalist interested in the Complex Systems Summer School, please check out SFI’s CSSS Journalism Fellowship.

Applicants from any country are welcome. Applicants who are not US citizens or permanent residents may need to apply for a visa waiver or B-1 visa. Please see more information under the FAQs.

The CSSS team is committed to offering inclusive educational programs in which all participants feel valued and supported in their learning journey. We believe that human diversity in all of its dimensions is essential to meaningful scientific progress. We believe that open discourse and respectful sharing of broad perspectives is essential for understanding our world. We work to ensure our educational programs reflect and encourage this diversity and inclusivity, and we welcome you to join us.

Application Requirements

Applicants should submit:

• Biographical information (filled out directly in the application portal).
• A current academic CV or résumé, including a list of publications, if any.
• A statement that describes your scholarly interests in complex systems and your goals in attending Summer School (maximum two pages).
• Two letters of recommendation: one from a supervisor and one from a collaborator.

Source and more information: https://santafe.edu/engage/learn/programs/sfi-complex-systems-summer-school