Examples include the Internet (and its problems of security, privacy and design), urban, regional and global transportation systems, regional and national power grids, telecommunication networks, the global financial system, environmental systems, national healthcare systems, cities and other large-scale projects with significant societal impact.

The master's in socio-technical systems at Stevens provides students with the ability to analyze and model such systems, design policies and strategies for their sustainable management and propose ways for their continuous improvement. This highly interdisciplinary program is primarily a research degree preparing students for Ph.D. programs in socio-technical systems, public policy, strategic management, engineering management and other related disciplines. The program is also suitable for decision-makers, managers and planners of complex large-scale systems. Leveraging insights from systems thinking, complexity science, management, public policy, economics and modeling and simulation, the program allows students to acquire the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to engage some of the most complex issues facing humanity today.