PhD
System Dynamics
MIT Sloan’s System Dynamics PhD group, established by Professor Jay W. Forrester in 1956, equips students with the theoretical, methodological, and philosophical tools to analyze system behaviors across various fields, including management, environmental change, politics, economics, medicine, and engineering. The group integrates organization studies, behavioral decision theory, and engineering to understand and influence dynamic changes over time. Students engage in comprehensive studies of system principles, economic and industrial dynamics, and policy analysis, supplemented by coursework in economics, information systems, statistics, and political science. Faculty members like Hazhir Rahmandad, who explores complex organizational dynamics and public health issues; John Sterman, known for his work on system dynamics modeling and sustainability; and Vicky Chuqiao Yang, who studies collective human behavior and decision-making, provide invaluable guidance and expertise.
Research from System Dynamics Faculty
How Reserve Currencies Rise and Fall: Arvind Krishnamurthy on the US Dollar and the History and Horizons of the World’s Money
What makes the US dollar the world’s reserve currency—and how long will it keep that role? Financial economist Arvind Krishnamurthy delves into the history of the Dutch florin and British pound sterling for clues about what can make or break a global reserve currency today.
Does mobile technology integration improve the speed and equity of resolving government service requests?
New research from MIT Sloan School of Management examines how the integration of mobile touchpoints with existing technologies impacts the efficiency and equity of non-emergency complaints for cities
How to level up systematic innovation with AI
Artificial intelligence can boost the systematic innovation of products, processes, and services. MIT Sloan professor Steven Eppinger offers four steps for making that happen.
Data or privacy? Businesses can have both, MIT Sloan research finds
Data regulation doesn’t necessarily cause economic harm. Markets — and consumers — can still derive economic benefits from data collection when it’s tempered by reasonable privacy guardrails.
Select System Dynamics Faculty
Full-Time Faculty
Johan Chu
Hear name pronounced.Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor
Johan Chu is the Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor and an Assistant Professor of System Dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management Johan's research examines power. Recently-developed technologies–including generative AI–allow…
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Nelson P. Repenning
School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies
Nelson P. Repenning is the Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center, and the School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His early work focused on understanding…
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Example PhD Thesis Topics
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Jose Lopez (2024)
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James Paine (2023)
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Tianyi Li (2021)
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Tse Yang Lim (2021)
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Jad Sassine (2021)