Futures Studies and Speculative Design

Courses 

Design Futures 101

This course introduces students to the academic field of futures studies and puts it in the context of a long global history of future vision creation. Students learn principles and methods from the field to ground their understanding of futures studies.

Immersive Scenario Planning

This course leads students through the construction of contextually relevant scenarios that take into account the objectives of communities, organizations, or industries.

“What will change in our futures? Who drives these changes? How should we prepare and respond? This certificate will help students navigate uncertainty by learning to address these questions through design futures and futures studies approaches.”

Program Highlights

Who Should Enroll

• Individuals who want to effect systems-level change in organizations and work toward long-term goals
• Professionals who already work in organizations and those wishing to find or create new opportunities 
• Those who are new to futures studies or have a working knowledge of the field and wish to increase their proficiency and build their portfolio of practice

What You’ll Gain

• Knowledge of key principles of futures studies and design futures
• Techniques for identifying, researching, and critiquing signals of change as potential trend indicators
• The ability to apply design futures methods and approaches to concrete topics
• Experience using methods and frameworks for forecasting hypothetical conditions
• The ability to lead scenario-planning exercises for community and corporate contexts
• The ability to create vivid, thought-provoking representations of hypothetical scenarios through diverse media
• An opportunity to develop futures scenarios that can shape your project or company’s path forward

How You’ll Learn

• Engaging video lectures and interviews with industry experts
• Direct interaction with faculty practitioners at the top of their fields
• Online collaboration and video conferencing 
• Project-based learning focused on developing real-world skills and portfolio assets

Why The New School?

The professional landscape as we’ve known it has changed dramatically, and ongoing learning is more important now than ever before. At The New School, we champion every student’s creativity and growth. By combining integrated disciplines with collaborative problem solving, we deliver an immersive, transformative learning experience. With the leadership of Parsons School of Design — ranked #1 in the United States* — our faculty imparts the critical expertise students need to advance their careers or pivot to new ones in a constantly evolving world.

*Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (2022).