by Wensupu Yang
It’s the year 2050. Futures studies and foresight have gone mainstream, with over a million practitioners. But how did we get here? Future historians might wonder, and maybe, just maybe, this very blog will make it into the footnotes.
This is the story of how I’m building my own master’s in futures studies and foresight. But it’s not just about me. If by the end, you’re inspired to build your own path, that’s how we create a million futurists — starting today.
I started down this rabbit hole for a simple reason: I wanted a more systematic and rigorous way to study the futures. When I discovered the field two years ago, everything felt thrilling and new. I cherished every book, article, and lesson. But over time, I found myself growing bored. That couldn’t be right — I knew there was a vast body of knowledge to explore, skills to hone, and capacities to deepen.
Graduate school seemed like the obvious next step, but like many, I wasn’t in a position — financially or personally — to pursue it. So, how could I get the education I wanted outside a formal program? So, I built my own futures master’s.
Phase 0: Gathering Resources
Before I even thought about building a futures master’s, I created a Foresight & Futures Studies Resource Aggregate. While it looked impressive at first, I quickly realized its limitation: it was a map, not a road map — informative but not actionable. Hoarding information, I learned, is far from true learning.
Phase 1: Curriculum and Syllabi Are My New Best Friends
I shifted focus to formal foresight programs. With support from LinkedIn friends, I researched all 15 foresight master’s programs globally[1] studying their curriculum — required and elective courses — and collected nearly 50 syllabi. This growing collection has become a course-level dictionary. Unlike the scattered knowledge from Phase 0, these syllabi fit together like building blocks, offering a clearer picture. Now I can compare how different institutions teach core topics and how foresight is emphasized, depending on where the program is situated.
This aim lines up with Peter Bishop’s 2016 paper, The University Foresight Network. While my approach is less formal, it’s part of the same quest to understand how foresight is taught (and how it can be learned) across different programs.
Still, I can’t shake the feeling there’s more to be done.
Interlude: Heutagogy and the Future of Learning
Most of us are familiar with “pedagogy.” But as educational futurist Dr. Timothy Stafford explains in his TED talk, pedagogy is for teaching children, while heutagogy is for self-managed learners — those who control what they study and why. “You will never be more motivated to learn,” Stafford says, “than when you learn through true autonomy, discovery, and resonance.”
It dawned on me: In Phase 1, I was trying to recreate a graduate classroom, but for a DIY learner, the institutional constraints don’t apply. I had been stuck in a “used future” — an outdated vision of what a master’s program must be — missing the wider possibilities.
Phase 2: Reimagining a Master of Futures
Once I broke free from the traditional course setup, I returned to first principles to design my DIY master’s with three key ideas:
• Project-Based Learning, with Competency as a Guide
• A Highly Flexible, Iterative Learning Cycle
• Building Credibility and Demonstrating Skills Publicly
Project-Based Learning, with Competency as a Guide
The biggest advantage of a DIY master’s is personalization.. Project-based learning is effective and engaging, but it’s often impractical in traditional classroom settings. Not a problem for us! Instead of following a laundry list of “study this then that,” create your own project, running through the foresight process: collecting signals, identifying trends, developing scenarios, etc. Reach out to real clients, even pro bono, for non-profits or community groups. Learn the methods by doing the project.
Another complementary approach is competency-based learning. The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) developed a Foresight Competency Model. You can use this model to assess your strengths and gaps, identify 3–5 key competencies, then build your learning goal around them. Over time, reassess and repeat.
Flexible and Iterative Discovery-Learning Cycle
Since the learner controls what they study, the curriculum acts as a map, but it’s up to the learner to decide how to navigate it. Novelty and interest are good guides. In Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned, Kenneth Stanley argues that rigid objectives are counterproductive in uncertain environments. Instead, following what’s novel and interesting can lead to the best outcomes.
For DIY foresight learners, start with some introductory books like Strategic Foresight: Learning from the Future by Patricia Lustig, Thinking about the Future by Andy Hines & Peter Bishop, The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies 2020 by Richard Slaughter and Andy Hines. From there, follow your interests by tracing references and citations; tools like Research Rabbit or Litmap can support explore more academic work.
Establish Credibility and Demonstrate Proficiency
A key concern for autodidacts is the lack of formal accreditation, as a university degree still holds greater recognition. So, what can you do? Learning in public might be a solution. As Austin Kleon suggests in Show Your Work!, share your process, not just the final product — post something small every day. By sharing your work — writing book reviews, hosting online seminars, or creating new tools — you’ll build a body of work. Employers, collaborators, and sponsors will take notice. This visibility can showcase skills in ways that traditional degrees might not.
Never Graduate
Some might feel disappointed that creating your own futures master’s means no grand graduation ceremony. But I see it differently: because you never officially graduate, the DIY master morphs into lifelong learning.
And maybe that’s how we reach the future where a million people study foresight: not through formal programs alone, but through open access, democratized, self-directed learning.
Happy learning!
© Wensupu Yang, 2024
Wensupu (Wen) Yang, originally from China and now based in London, UK, earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from UC San Diego in 2020. After graduation, Wen discovered the field of foresight and instantly recognized it as his true passion. His self-directed learning journey in foresight includes completing the Foresight Essentials Training with the Institute for the Future (IFTF) and joining the Association of Professional Futurists (APF) in 2022. Now firmly committed to establishing a career as a professional futurist, Wen is driven by a passion for lifelong learning and an interdisciplinary approach to help organizations anticipate and adapt to complex futures.
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