Graduate pathway
Culture and Complexity

Understand how complex organisations of all sizes — from teams to companies to societies — succeed in impacting on the world.

We handpick a diverse cohort of students who we believe have the highest potential to solve the world’s most complex problems
Key information

Discover our Master of Arts and Science (MASc) in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods: Culture and Complexity.

Qualitifaction

Master’s degree (MASc)

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start date

September 2024

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Duration

2-years

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home Fees

£5,400 / a year

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Location

Remote-first

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Time

8-10 hrs p/week

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Qualitifaction

Master's degree (MASc)

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start date

September 2024

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Duration

1 year

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home Fees

£10,800 / a year

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Location

Campus-first

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Time

Full-time

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Introduction
Overview

This pathway equips you with a more sophisticated understanding of (and approach to) human dynamics and behaviour.

You’ll use insights from numerical, linguistic, and media-focused disciplines to model different kinds of data and make informed decisions about how organisations can be optimised for performance.

Who should take this pathway?

The Culture and Complexity pathway is for anyone looking to pursue careers or problems related to the complex dynamics of human behaviour – or, simply put, anyone working with people.

In a field bursting with data and theory, this pathway will teach you to cut through the noise and find key insights that can be applied to a range of social and organisational challenges.

The curriculum

Develop a sophisticated understanding of the complexity of human behaviour, culture, and social systems.

To gain a degree in the UK you must pass a certain number of credits in each year of the degree. Each module is given a credit, which you are awarded when you pass each module at assessment.

modes of study
Flexible study options

Deciding to study for a master’s is a significant commitment. It’s important to consider the mode of study and pace at which you are expected to complete the programme.

Part-time, remote-first

Designed for people that have other commitments and/or want to continue to work alongside study. For those that don’t want to regularly commute or live in London.

2 years to complete
8-10 hrs per week
2-3 hrs live online workshops per week
Optional on-campus meet ups and workshops

Full-time, campus-first

Designed for those that want an immersive social experience and to complete a masters in a year. For those that already live in or near London or would like to.

1 year to complete
Full-time
5-10 hrs live classes per week
Flexible self-paced online prep
Your interdisciplinary faculty

Prof Carl Gombrich
Faculty, Academic Lead and Director of Teaching & Learning

Carl is the Lead Academic at LIS and oversees curriculum design, teaching, and learning. He was previously a Professorial Teaching Fellow of Interdisciplinary Education at UCL and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

She/Her

Dr Amelia Peterson
Faculty, Head of Learning and Teaching

Amelia is a social scientist with a background in policy and consulting. She studies how education systems adapt to societal and economic change. Prior to LIS, Amelia taught in the Social Policy department at LSE. She received her PhD from Harvard and her BA from Oxford.

Dr Mattia Gallotti
Faculty, Head of Research and Development

Mattia is a social philosopher with a background in economics and a keen interest in academic governance and innovation. His work is conceptual and the subject is social ontology. Over the years, he has sought to connect and integrate concepts of social philosophy across a range of intellectual discourses and styles, from cognitive science to theology. Before joining LIS as an Associate Professor, Mattia lectured on the philosophy of the social sciences at LSE and he managed a multidisciplinary program on the human mind in the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. As a postdoc, he held fellowships at Columbia University and the Jean Nicod Institute in Paris.

He/They

Dr Ash Brockwell
Faculty, Lead on problem-based Learning

Ash is an interdisciplinary educator, writer, and consultant. He holds an MBiochem degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, an MSc in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Kent, and a PhD in Education for Sustainability from Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands.

He/Him

Dr Michael Englard
Registrar

Michael is the Registrar at LIS. In this role, Michael led the team in securing new Degree Awarding Powers. This milestone ensured that LIS was the first Higher Education Institution to begin with the ability to award its own degrees for over fifty years. Michael has set up and run two charities: Causeway Education (focused on supporting access to higher education and the professions) and the LIS Foundation (LIS’s sister charity). Michael sits on the Board of LIS, is a Trustee of Causeway Education, a parent governor of STEP Academy, and holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Michael teaches elective modules focused on the narratives of wicked problems.

Isaiah Wellington-Lynn
Faculty, Lead on Coaching and Integration

Isaiah is an anthropologist, product designer, and storyteller. He is reading for a PhD at the University of Oxford, holds a BSc in Anthropology from UCL, and was a visiting undergraduate at Harvard. Isaiah's interests include belonging, meritocracy, inclusive product design, sustainable fashion, and social mobility.

Dr Anson Cheung
Faculty, Quantitative Methods Lead, Pastoral Lead

Anson is a theoretical physicist with a background in building models in condensed matter theory. He specialises in complex systems with many-body interactions. He received his undergraduate degree and PhD from Cambridge University where he was a research fellow and remains an affiliated lecturer. Keenly interested in the pedagogical development of problem-solving skills at the secondary-tertiary interface, he is a trustee of the British Physics Olympiad, and he has also served in middle management in secondary schools.

She/Her

María Angélica Madero
Faculty, Lead on Prep Culture and Content Creation

María Angélica is an artist, who has exhibited her work in cities such as Los Angeles, London, and Cali. She is a founding faculty member at the LIS, where she leads in Prep Culture and Content Creation. Additionally, she is an Honorary Professor at El Bosque University in Colombia, where she was Head of Art from 2015 to 2020. She holds an MA in Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, and an additional MA in Philosophy and Critical Theory from Kingston University.

He/Him

Dr James Everest
Faculty, Lead on Qualitative Methods

James studied languages at Cambridge, then worked for three years in public sector communications, before completing a Masters in English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London, and a PhD in the history of science at UCL. He has taught on the Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences degree programme at the University of Birmingham and the Arts and Sciences programme at UCL.

She/They

Kestral Gaian
Head of Digital, Lecturer

Kestral has worked at the cross-section of technology and society for two decades within the technology, health, and wellbeing industries, and within academia. Her role at the London Interdisciplinary School includes teaching on technocultiralism, user experience design, and futures literacy. She also works as Head of Digital to set the organisation’s pace as an innovator in the use and development of teaching and learning technology.

Dr James Carney
Faculty

James is a computational linguist who uses artificial intelligence to understand the relationship between cognition and culture. He is especially interested in the intersection between interpretive, computational, and experimental methods of inquiry. His research has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, the European Commission, and Innovate UK. Previous to coming to LIS, James worked in Brunel University London, Lancaster University, and the University of Oxford (where he held a Junior Research Fellowship). He is also founding director of Texture AI, a data science company that has had the BBC, Google, ITV, Reach PLC, the UK Cabinet Office and other leading organisations as clients.

Rosita Bannert
Faculty

Rosita is a UCL BASc graduate living the polymath life with more than one career. She is a self-taught web engineer who loves building with code as well as traditional materials.

Dr Matthew Brett
Faculty

Matthew trained and practised as a doctor before specializing in neuroscience. He is an open-source software developer and has worked on the basic packages for data analysis in Python, among other projects. His main passion is thinking about new, accessible and revealing ways of doing and teaching data analysis.

Dr Bronwyn Tarr
Faculty

Bronwyn is a human behavioural scientist interested in the evolution of social behaviours, particularly music and dance. She completed her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford and has continued her research in evolutionary anthropology and psychology there.

She/Her

Dr Catalina Pesce
Faculty

Catalina started her academic journey studying Engineering Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Chile, where she also obtained a MSc in Applied Mathematics. She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Oxford and her current research focuses on nonlinear partial differential equations and their applications. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is keen on helping students develop mathematical thinking skills through active learning.

Lara Kinneir
Faculty

Lara is a designer who trained in architecture and spatial design in Glasgow, Madrid and London. Lara has worked in academia, city regeneration, government policy, design studios, think tanks and global organisations that are focused on the bettering of people and planetary life. Her interests are in social and spatial justice, spatial design, multilateral partnerships and innovative governance.

She/Her

Emma Ahmed-Rengers
Faculty

Emma was a Lecturer in Law and Data Science at the University of Birmingham before joining LIS. She also previously taught legal theory, political theory, international law, and philosophy of science at the University of Amsterdam. She holds a Master of Law (LLM) from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE) from the University of Amsterdam. Emma is currently completing a PhD in Law at the University of Birmingham, focusing on algorithmic regulation.

Waqās Ahmed
Faculty

Waqās is founder of the DaVinci Network, author of The Polymath (Wiley 2019) and creator of the Polymath Festival. His research interests center around human diversity and performance. He holds a BSc in Economics (SOAS) and postgraduate degrees in International History (LSE) and Neuroscience (King's College London). His main professional careers have been in diplomatic journalism and visual art.