Over 400 people have graduated from the Master’s program. Another 600+ have graduated from our weeklong certificate program. Eight have graduated from our recently established four-course Graduate Certificate. Our alums are spread throughout the world and among big companies (AT&T, IBM, Lockheed Martin,), foresight consultancies (Fast Future, Foresight Alliance, Futures Company), entrepreneurship (Musical Health Technologies, Refactor U) and non-profits (Acceleration Studies Foundation, Unicef, World Economic Forum).

Current students regularly interact with alumni as part of their course work. In a recent student-led interview, alum Will Thurmond, CEO of Emerging Markets Online, observed that,

“The Foresight program provides you with multiple lenses (STEEP) for looking ahead. Looking at the same subject through different lenses (society, technology, energy, environment, policy)  reveals information that you would not see otherwise from a traditional perspective. It has allowed me to build a flexible and successful career in both quantitative forecasting and qualitative foresight as a thought leader in the biofuels space.”

A striking finding from a 2015 survey by then-student and now-alum Fatema Tuz Zohra was that 95% of Houston Foresight alums surveyed agreed that “The foresight program has changed my thinking and positively influenced my life.” Another interesting finding was that 32% of respondents said they “got employed because of their foresight degree.” Basically, one in three students. This fits with a previous segmentation analysis of students suggesting that roughly 3/4ths to 1/3rd of students come to us as established professionals, and 1/4th to 1/3rd are new professionals — looking to establish careers as futurists. The established pros are typically either looking to future-proof their current position and organization, or to branch out into something new involving foresight. Since these students are already working professionals and leaders in their respective field, the Foresight degree doesn’t typically lead them to a new job. However for others, it creates career choices for those looking to branch out.

We asked alums to provide advice and thoughts about the program to current and prospective students.

• “The best part of the program is questioning your assumptions and broadening your thinking, which will set you apart from others.”
• “We need to create our own jobs because it’s like we talk about the future but live in the past with the effort of blending into already established roles.”
• “It’s a great mind-blowing program.”
• “It’s never the degree; it’s how you use it.”
• “My experience in school was that there were a lot of opportunities to show up and network and raise my hand/volunteer with projects where I got more experience and got in other futurists’ networks. The key to getting a job in this field is networking.”
• “The program opens up ways of thinking, new horizons. While I am a very imaginative and creative person, there were things I did not consider before.”

Student Thoughts About The Foresight Program

I was first introduced to the concept of foresight while working at Campbell Soup Company and was looking for a program where I could become an expert and develop the skill-sets required to help others see the value of the field. The University of Houston’s Masters in Foresight Program was a perfect choice. I started as a part-time student and quickly realized that I wanted to dedicate 100% of my time to the program. Looking back, it was the best choice ever. The program provided a wide range of opportunities where I was immersed in courses with distinguished professors with extensive years of professional foresight experience and fellow students who come from all over the world that are incredibly intelligent and passionate about the field. The opportunity to work with Professor Andy Hines and a few alums was definitely one of my highlight moments at the University of Houston where I got to work on real-life foresight projects and develop the skill-sets required to be a practitioner. This program opened up so many possibilities for me and without this experience, I know I would not be where I am now as a foresight consultant. 

-Hannah K.

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During my final term for my Undergrad as a Training Specialist, I took a Technology and Society course that altered the trajectory of my Academic experience. For a project, we watched the film, “The Future of Work and Death: The Impact of Technological Advances in Human Life, 2016.” This is when I ran into the term “Futurism”. I was astounded, shocked, amazed and needed to know more. While researching for an interdisciplinary academic program, I found the Graduate Foresight Program in the College of Technology at the University of Houston. That was it, my next journey was sealed. I’m in my first semester taking 12 credits and am having a blast learning this interdisciplinary field, meeting students with unique backgrounds from Medical Doctors, to Physics PhD holders, engineers and scientists, practitioners in Education, and Polymaths in a plethora of other fields. The professors have a wealth of experience, often lecture during their world travels, and continue to engage the students while presenting a challenging curriculum, that the students personalize to fit their area of expertise.

-L. M. Young

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The Houston Foresight Program is ideally suited for those already established in some other field but are drawn to the concept of “there has to be a better way to adapt to change.” As one goes through the program, you can feel yourself thinking differently, not just about the future, but about decision making and the implications of the decisions on the future. The program, whether it is the certificate or master’s degree, proceeds in a logical progression and each course gives you confidence that you are gaining skills to help adapt to change. I recently received my master’s degree in Foresight and the opportunities that have opened up for me solidified, in my mind, how worthwhile the investment in this program is to my future.

All of the instructors are masterful in their use of technology to make you feel as though you are in the physical classroom but, rather, you are comfortably at home. Class size is ideal and interactions with classmates is seamless with the technology that Houston uses for the online courses. Faculty always made time for students outside of class hours but it was the personal interactions and encouragement of the faculty that makes this program so unique. Foresight is still a small field and the program at Houston taps into the luminaries in the field, whether they are teaching the course or doing a guest lecture. You get to learn from those who are leaders in Foresight and the networking opportunities are invaluable.

-Dr. Karen Rosenthal

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