Europe’s First PhD Program in Network Science

Abstract

The new science of networks had reached such maturity by 2010 that the idea of launching a PhD program became natural. We at the Central European University (CEU) had the vision of a truly interdisciplinary, problem driven, and data oriented program for students with diverse backgrounds. The program was launched in September 2015, and is the first of this kind in Europe. In this chapter we discuss the motivation, the scientific environment, and the curriculum for the new program. We argue that a network science PhD program can be successful even with high student diversity, once we place emphasis on a flexible curriculum with opportunities to equalize missing skills, and a strong element of solidarity and mutual learning among the students. We also report about the recruitment process and the first experience with two cohorts.