The Gulf Futures Design Studio Program (GFDS) is a multi-year, multi-institution, interdisciplinary design studio network grant at higher education institutions in the Gulf states. The project is being developed as part of the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The program includes a set of design studio courses and research activities that seek to build the capacity of Gulf region colleges and universities to prepare the next generation of professionals to identify, visualize, explore, and propose solutions to local and regional critical issues in the Gulf region. Using design thinking as the foundational pedagogical and research approach, GFDS students pursue complementary academic experiences with a focus at the intersection of three GRP-defined Gulf Futures - the Future of the Energy Systems, Future of Environmental Change along the Gulf Coast, and the Future of Healthy and Resilient Communities. Through these focus areas, GFDS intends both to align with alike areas within the GRP and to serve as complement to its current educational and community health and resilience activities.