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About the Current Program
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Courses
Professors & Instructors
Current Students
Advisory Board
History of the Program
History of the Futures Field
Hello and thanks for checking us out. Founded in 1974, the Futures Studies department at the University of Houston is the longest running program in United States offering a Masters Degree in Futures Studies.
Currently, the program is located on the main campus of the University of Houston, though the degree can be completed entirely online. Futures Studies, sometimes known as Strategic Foresight, provides students with the tools, methods and information to become a practicing futurist working in any number of fields or industries, including commerce, government, community organizations, business, consulting, research and writing. Studying Futures can also give those in a multitude of other careers including marketing, technology, management, education and a host of other fields tools and knowledge to separate themselves from others in their industries.
Through classes including the Introduction to Futures Studies, World Futures, Social Change, Systems Thinking, Futures Research, Strategic Planning & Change Management, and the Proseminar in Futures Studies, as well as topical classes, such as The Future of Energy and the Environment, the Future of Biotech and the Future of the United States (see Courses), the program provides students with an entirely new context in which to see and understand the world.
The program requires 11 courses plus a Master's Option (Internship, Research Paper or Project). Classes can be taken in person on the main campus of the University of Houston or online, either by listening and interacting with the class in real time or by listening to archives of the classes when it is convenient for you. During the 2007-2008 academic year students attended classes via the internet from their homes in Australia,Canada and many other (exotic) locales including Tulsa OK, Pasadena CA and Austin TX.
The program can be completed in four semesters (sans Master's options); some graduates have done it in three, though this is not necessarily recommended. Many students work full-time and take only one or two classes per semester. Students range in age from those right out of undergrad to those who have retired from their first career or even a few who have retired altogether! Classes run from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. Central US time, though some students who can not make class every week do listen to the recorded archives instead.
The program recently moved from the Clear Lake Campus (where NASA is headquartered) to the University of Houston main campus near downtown Houston, which means that the program is going through some changes, some positive and some perplexing. One perplexing change is the official title of the program is Futures Studies in Commerce. Why is this, when it's been called simply Futures Studies for more than 25 years? In order to eliminate long tales of red tape, suffice it to say that the program had to adjust to the the word "commerce" in order to fit in with the University requirements for specificity in graduate programs. While the "commerce" addition does change the name this is mostly due to the foresight (we love that word here) of the good folks in the Human Developement and Consumer Science department within the College of Technology who took the program in when it was homeless. The scope of the subjects within the program has not been changed though one class has been slightly alerted. We encourage you to speak with Dr. Peter Bishop < pbishop@uh.edu > for latest updates. (7/29/08)
Site Note: Because we want to make sure that the information on certain pages reflect the most current information, we've locked the pages. If you are a student or alumni with write privileges or are a student or alumni who would like privileges and you want to add to this page, please email houstonfutures@mac.com. Anyone however can start or respond to threads/messageboards, the link for which can be found below. Thank you.
Courses
Professors & Instructors
Current Students
Advisory Board
History of the Program
History of the Futures Field
Hello and thanks for checking us out. Founded in 1974, the Futures Studies department at the University of Houston is the longest running program in United States offering a Masters Degree in Futures Studies.
Currently, the program is located on the main campus of the University of Houston, though the degree can be completed entirely online. Futures Studies, sometimes known as Strategic Foresight, provides students with the tools, methods and information to become a practicing futurist working in any number of fields or industries, including commerce, government, community organizations, business, consulting, research and writing. Studying Futures can also give those in a multitude of other careers including marketing, technology, management, education and a host of other fields tools and knowledge to separate themselves from others in their industries.
Through classes including the Introduction to Futures Studies, World Futures, Social Change, Systems Thinking, Futures Research, Strategic Planning & Change Management, and the Proseminar in Futures Studies, as well as topical classes, such as The Future of Energy and the Environment, the Future of Biotech and the Future of the United States (see Courses), the program provides students with an entirely new context in which to see and understand the world.
The program requires 11 courses plus a Master's Option (Internship, Research Paper or Project). Classes can be taken in person on the main campus of the University of Houston or online, either by listening and interacting with the class in real time or by listening to archives of the classes when it is convenient for you. During the 2007-2008 academic year students attended classes via the internet from their homes in Australia,Canada and many other (exotic) locales including Tulsa OK, Pasadena CA and Austin TX.
The program can be completed in four semesters (sans Master's options); some graduates have done it in three, though this is not necessarily recommended. Many students work full-time and take only one or two classes per semester. Students range in age from those right out of undergrad to those who have retired from their first career or even a few who have retired altogether! Classes run from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. Central US time, though some students who can not make class every week do listen to the recorded archives instead.
The program recently moved from the Clear Lake Campus (where NASA is headquartered) to the University of Houston main campus near downtown Houston, which means that the program is going through some changes, some positive and some perplexing. One perplexing change is the official title of the program is Futures Studies in Commerce. Why is this, when it's been called simply Futures Studies for more than 25 years? In order to eliminate long tales of red tape, suffice it to say that the program had to adjust to the the word "commerce" in order to fit in with the University requirements for specificity in graduate programs. While the "commerce" addition does change the name this is mostly due to the foresight (we love that word here) of the good folks in the Human Developement and Consumer Science department within the College of Technology who took the program in when it was homeless. The scope of the subjects within the program has not been changed though one class has been slightly alerted. We encourage you to speak with Dr. Peter Bishop < pbishop@uh.edu > for latest updates. (7/29/08)
Site Note: Because we want to make sure that the information on certain pages reflect the most current information, we've locked the pages. If you are a student or alumni with write privileges or are a student or alumni who would like privileges and you want to add to this page, please email houstonfutures@mac.com. Anyone however can start or respond to threads/messageboards, the link for which can be found below. Thank you.
ProfessorWantanabe |
Latest page update: made by ProfessorWantanabe
, Dec 15 2009, 9:42 AM EST
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