This page lists programs and resources for students seeking the best global graduate education presently available in futures studies (FS) (also known as strategic foresight, prospective studies, prognostics, futurology, futuring, futuristics, and other terms) and related disciplines. The singular "future studies" is less-preferred by academics, as there is a plurality of possible futures for human cultures. As a prospective futurist, any of these might be helpful to your professional development.

	Overview Program Potentials Primary Programs Undergraduate Centers and Courses Select Secondary Programs Resources

Overview
Futures studies (FS) is an inherently interdisciplinary program that seeks to reliably improve universal, global, societal, organizational, and individual foresight. It involves the formal study of trends, prediction analysis, scenarios, images of the future, visioning, long-range planning, forecasting, scanning, and related disciplines. Creating, anticipating, and managing change in our increasingly fast-paced, technological and globalized world is an extraordinary challenge.

Like science and technology studies (STS), a similarly cross-disciplinary activity, futures studies MS and PhD programs can live in a wide range of schools and departments at the university. In the ideal case, we believe such programs should exist as independently-funded interdisciplinary centers at the university, able to collaborate on foresight projects with all interested campus academic departments, as well other universities, government, and corporate clients. Below is ASF's current framework for Primary and Secondary futures specialties. A global list of futures educational frameworks may be found here.

Acceleration Studies Foundation - Futures Education Framework

We suggest an MS or PhD futures studies program should provide basic proficiency in all the primary futures specialties above (the core curriculum of futures studies), and at least introduce the key concepts and resources in the secondary specialties. Electives and thesis topics should be possible in both primary and secondary specialties. At present, extensive education in primary specialties are rarely found outside of futures education, but secondary specialties usually have their own independent practitioner and education networks.

ASF also proposes that the best futures studies programs (primary and secondary) should satisfy all of the following requirements:

Ideal Admission Prerequisites
1. An undergraduate degree (undergrad FS should be integrated and course-based, not degree-based)
2. Applied, specialized, real-world experience (3+ years incoming experience after undergrad degree)
3. Science, tech, and history (econ, political and social) prereqs or testing, with mandatory deficit remediation

Ideal Program Requirements
1. Broad-based, balanced, integral curriculum (all quadrant, all level, all discipline, globally- and accel-aware)
2. Considers both evolutionary (possible and reversible) and developmental (probable and irreversible) change
3. Measurably improves knowledge (pre- and in-program testing)
4. Measurably improves skills, incl. prediction and change mgmt (validated via prediction markets, tests, etc.)
5. Multidisciplinary. FS students should become subject matter experts (SME's) in more than one discipline

Not all of the programs below presently meet these requirements. A handful of current programs are broadly acceleration-aware, most are less so. Others to recommend? Edits or corrections? Please let us know.

Primary Programs English-language Instruction
English-language MS and PhD programs in any of the primary futures studies subject areas (see above) are listed below.

Primary Programs Other Language Instruction
Non-English MS and PhD programs in any of the primary futures studies subject areas (see above) are listed below.

Three decades after the first graduate FS program emerged (Houston, 1975), there are clearly far fewer primary programs today than we might hope or expect. As futurists, we must challenge the scarcity of foresight in global culture, and do everything we can to ensure our existing programs offer obvious value to students in a world of accelerating change.

We believe that improving, networking, and promoting our best futures studies programs should be top priorities for the global futurist community, both academic (WFSF, etc.), professional (APF, etc.) and general (WFS, etc.). As Peter Bishop, Director of the Houston MS program notes, we must put particular emphasis on improving our FS doctoral programs, which do basic FS research and produce faculty able to staff new MS and PhD programs. We must also do our best to ensure that the leaders of our primary programs and key faculty in our secondary programs are publishing, practicing futurists.

Select Secondary Programs English Instruction (except where indicated)
MS and PhD programs in secondary futures studies subject areas (see top of page) which either 1) place a notable emphasis on any of the primary FS subjects or 2) have on-campus futures research centers which may be used for potential affiliations during graduate study, are listed below. Most offer English-language instruction, except where indicated.

For additional secondary programs, see Graduate Programs for Understanding and Managing Accelerating Change. For Jose Ramos excellent 2002 FS survey, with additional program and contact detail, see International Survey of University Futures Courses (PDF, 43 pages). For a list of bioethics programs potentially conducive to scholarship on human-machine symbiosis (transhumanism), see the WTA's Programs for Graduate Studies in Bioethics. For a great but unselective database of graduate programs (US, International, and Distance), see GradSchools.com. Browse All Subjects.