Graduate Certificate in Futures Thinking and Foresight Practice

This certificate offers students and experienced professionals the opportunity to deepen their understanding of futures thinking and foresight practice to positively impact a highly volatile and complex landscape recently referred to as “post-normal times.” Given rapid and exponential acceleration that is occurring across both public and private sectors, a new mindset and new skills are needed to navigate this complexity and build success pathways to desired futures. Increasing “readiness for the future” has become an urgent call to action across disciplines and professional spheres of influence. This 18-credit learning experience includes focus on technological change, climate change, geo-political shifts, racial equity and such topics as the future of work, food, learning and more. 

Foresight is an emerging interdisciplinary social science comprised of psychology, sociology, anthropology and social work, the arts, political science,  business, technological studies, urban studies, public administration, engineering and technology sciences,  economics, and other geo-political focal areas (to name a few). Futures thinking and foresight practice reflect a collection of applied skills and tools related to a specific type of anticipatory thinking, applied ethics in a futures context and related change management/navigation skills. It is also about increasing proficiency in building collective intelligence, imagination, agency and agility in individuals, groups, organizations and civic collectives with regard to self-determination and democratically anchored futures planning.  Interdisciplinary elective coursework will allow students to personalize from among a list of future forward courses that best meet their professional goals and their intended future focus.

The certificate includes a deep exploration of settings and methods where foresight is currently being practiced in both the public and private sectors, a review of foresight research and methods and profiles of futurists who lead these processes. With a special focus on leading efforts to build foresightfulness within communities and/or organizations through trend mapping, power analysis, goal setting in a “VUCA” practice environment (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity), students  learn the fundamentals of engaging individuals, groups and organizations in a positive experience of navigating futures conceptualization and planning.  Issues of equity and strategies to democratize co-creation of shared futures, acknowledge/address bias and patterns of historical bias are prioritized.  A concluding integration course provides a culminating experience to engage in shared learning and cross-disciplinary review of foresight projects, as well as creation of a professional foresight portfolio useful to those seeking to enhance their career readiness in this area.

Total Credit Hours: 18