Agent-Based Modeling

Undergraduate / Graduate

Social science problems often have so many details and moving parts that it can be difficult for researchers to gain traction without models. In this course, we explore agent-based modeling approaches to understand these social science problems including cooperation and the development of culture. Agent-based models enable us to build an understanding from the bottom up, starting with simple assumptions and analyzing how patterns emerge at a larger scale. Through the term, we'll cover the fundamentals of modeling, including basic principles of model design, data extraction, and canonical examples like Conway's Game of Life, Schelling's segregation model, and Boids/flocking. The course is balanced between social science readings and applications and hands-on coding. It cumulates in a final project consisting of an agent-based model designed by students to apply to a social science phenomenon.