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SYSC 332U: Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling
Course Summary: At the crossroads of biology, social science, philosophy, and artificial intelligence, the course introduces students to agent-based modeling, a new approach to modeling, thinking about, and analyzing complex and adaptive social and ecological systems.
The agent-based approach is rooted in the idea that the complex macro-level patterns we observe in social and ecological systems emerge from micro-level interactions among decentralized and self-organizing agents that follow relatively simple and localized rules.
The course carefully and thoroughly reviews the conceptual foundations of agent-based modeling, provides social and ecological examples of its application, and introduces students to a free modeling tool, NetLogo, which can be used to build and analyze agent-based models.
Prerequisites: Basic computer skills and access to a computer and Internet.
Meets the following University Studies Cluster Course Requirements: Knowledge, Values, and Rationality; Freedom, Privacy and Technology, and Design Thinking, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.
Type: Online