Futures Studies
and Speculative
Design Certificate

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Envision tomorrow through design

Individuals, communities, governments, and businesses all face complex questions when making plans for the future. This certificate focuses on developing necessary skills for future image making with compelling immersive sensory experiences. Students learn to apply theory and methods to create and employ projections of desirable and undesirable future scenarios.

They also examine ways futures discourse can shape a project or a company's path forward.

Format:

Online

Price:

$1,840 total

Total Courses:

Course Length:

8 weeks

Who Should Enroll

Individuals who want to effect systems-level change in organizations and work toward long-term goals
Professionals who already work within 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
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 your 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

Courses

Students must complete both courses within one year.

Design Futures 101

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

Sensory Futures Scenario Planning

In this course, students build on the knowledge gained in Design Futures 101, focusing on scenario planning and immersive materialization. The course leads them through construction of contextually relevant scenarios that reflect the objectives of communities, organizations, or industries.

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“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.”

Elliott P. Montgomery, assistant professor of strategic design and management

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 — a globally top-ranked design school — our faculty imparts the critical expertise students need to advance their careers or pivot to new ones in a constantly evolving world.