The Master of Future Cities is designed to provide early- and mid-career professionals with competency in futures and systems thinking and foresight methods that can be used to better address the significant challenges of today while anticipating and generating innovative and sustainable options for uncertain and increasingly complex futures in the context of cities.
At a glance
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Coursework-based, mostly online
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Full or part-time
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One-week program residency (August 21- 28, 2024)
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Nine courses including a capstone project
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Optional international field school
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Two-day capstone residency (August 2025)
The future is unknown
The traditional approaches to studying, planning, managing, and visioning our cities are arguably struggling to address our challenges today and lack the capacity to critically explore and develop alternatives for a future city. There is need to move beyond the silos within cities and disciplinary boundaries to foster multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary thinking applied to urban challenges and futures.
Practical, hands-on learning
Students will learn to apply knowledge in contexts that we cannot even imagine today. The program embeds foresight methods through systems and futures thinking throughout the program, and engages learners with alternative visions of future cities built from multiple perspectives. The program requires students to develop and demonstrate mastery of futures thinking and applications through a team-based capstone project course. Guest speakers, field trips, and networking opportunities are key components of our curriculum.
Designed to fit your schedule
The program is offered both full and part-time. You can choose between completing within 1 year (3 terms) or scheduling the program to balance other commitments. It can be completed mostly online with one mandatory 1-week block on campus and a field trip that is highly recommended. More in-person instruction can be pursued if desired by students.
All students are expected to complete two required core courses, FCIT 600 (Cities, Systems, Synergy and Collaboration) and FCIT 601 (Tools for Futures Thinking), in the first five months of the program. In total, students will need to complete nine courses: five required courses, one methods course (choice of two), two thematic electives (choice of six), and one recommended elective (an International Field School) to successfully complete the program.
For students unwilling or unable to complete the International Field School, the ninth course may be a third thematic elective, or with instructor and program director permission, any other graduate course offered by the Faculty of Environment. The part-time sequence recommends students complete most core courses in the same term as full-time students but will also have options in selecting elective courses.
Questions?
Contact Cynthiya Subramaniam, Graduate Studies Administrator env-mfc@uwaterloo.ca.