Complex Systems Courses and Certifications

Tutorials for Complex Systems

25 ratings

This course covers several mathematical techniques that are frequently used in complex systems science. The techniques are covered in independent units, taught by different instructors.

• Complexity Explorer
• Self-Paced
• Free Online Course

Model Thinking

64 ratings

Think with many models: work through Schelling segregation, tipping points, Markov processes, random walks, the prisoners' dilemma, and replicator dynamics to explain social phenomena.

• Coursera
• 12 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

• Best of All Time

Introduction to Dynamical Systems and Chaos

131 ratings

In this course you'll gain an introduction to the modern study of dynamical systems, the interdisciplinary field of applied mathematics that studies systems that change over time.

• Complexity Explorer
• 10 weeks, 3-6 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

• Best of All Time

ICTP Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics

Physics of Complex Systems - Spring College

Connects statistical-physics methods to biological systems, from optimization and inference to quantitative bacterial physiology.

• YouTube
• 2 days 9 hours 43 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Conf42

Optimizing IT Performance in Complex Systems

Explore advanced strategies for managing and optimizing IT system performance while navigating complex infrastructures, user demands, and resource constraints.

• YouTube
• 21 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Nanyang Technological University

Introduction to Complexity Science

35 ratings at Coursera

Explore complex systems in Jupyter: run the Nagel-Schreckenberg traffic model and Game of Life, simulate Schelling segregation with agent-based modeling, and analyze tipping points and network epidemics.

• Coursera
• 5 weeks, 3 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Stanford Seminar - Lenia- Biology of Artificial Life, Bert Wang-Chak Chan

Explore Lenia, a continuous cellular automaton whose self-organizing patterns resemble microscopic life and can be studied through evolution, ecology, and morphology.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Online Course

Introduction to Complexity

Explore the tools scientists use to understand complex systems: dynamics and chaos, fractals, information theory, genetic algorithms, cellular automata, networks, and scaling in biology and society.

• Complexity Explorer
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

Lecture: What is Complexity?

Explore the question "What is complexity?" through the evolution of genetic, neural, linguistic, social, and cultural mechanisms that support memory and information processing.

• Complexity Explorer
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

Journal Club

Follow short summaries of recent complex systems papers, covering when social learners impair collective performance, basins of attraction, and music as a complex system.

• Complexity Explorer
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

Complexity-GAINs Curriculum

Explore curricular resources from a complex systems summer school, covering socio-behavioral systems, intelligent systems, and ecosystems, and modeling approaches drawn from physics, biology, and social sciences.

• Complexity Explorer
• Self-Paced
• Free Certificate

Complexity Academy

Complexity Theory an Introduction

Grasp complexity in intuitive terms: explore systems theory, nonlinear systems, network theory, self-organization, and complex adaptive systems behind finance, ecosystems, and large organizations.

• Independent
• Self-Paced
• Free Online Course

Complexity Explorer

What is Complexity? - Exploring Complexity Epistemology and Emergence

David Krakauer examines what complexity is, focusing on how we know and understand complex phenomena and how emergence shapes that understanding.

• YouTube
• 34 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Royal Institution

Living on the Edge of Chaos - Self-Organisation and Critical States in Nature and Markets - Lecture 4

How traffic jams and market crashes can emerge as collective behavior when systems sit between order and chaos.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Wolfram

2026 Wolfram Science Winter School Keynote Address

Stephen Wolfram opens the 2026 Wolfram Science Winter School with a keynote address.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 48 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video