Blockchain-related courses now offered at almost half the world’s top 50 universities

US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has released a survey revealing that 42% of the world’s top 50 universities have included at least one crypto or blockchain course to its curriculum.

The study, jointly conducted by the exchange and survey firm Qriously, also shows that 18% of the 675 US college students interviewed own some kind of cryptocurrency.

The survey took a look into 172 crypto and blockchain courses offered by the universities. They found that 15% of the classes were provided by the economics, finance, law and business departments. And 4% were provided by social science departments.

More results

The survey also showed that 34% of those studying majors in computer science and engineering were interested in learning about the revolutionary technology, while 47% of social science majors expressed interest in taking crypto and blockchain-related courses.

“There’s a huge demand out there, especially in the design space, for people that have the skills that we train anthropologists with, understanding the human side of technology,” says University of California Irvine School of Sciences Dean Bill Maurer.

“Students today are really thinking deeply about economic issues and alternative economic futures.

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“Teaching about this kind of stuff now can be really powerful for students that are trying to find their own way and envision what kind of possible alternatives there might be to the prevailing economic system”.

New York University Finance Department Chair David Yermack told Coinbase his school “first offered his course on blockchain and financial services in 2014, 35 students signed up, eight fewer than the school’s typical elective”.

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Yermack says he first developed the class because he was interested in Bitcoin and how quickly interest in cryptocurrency was growing, Coinbase says on its website.

“But other reasons soon emerged, notably demand from companies for people who understood cryptocurrency-related issues. Now, he sees his class as a way to give students the skills they’ll need for jobs in the future,” the exchange adds.

An era of migration to blockchain

Yermack concludes by saying there is “a process well underway that will lead to the migration of most financial data to blockchain-based organisations. Students will benefit greatly from studying this area”.

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Coinbase adds “there are also plenty of options for people not currently enrolled at a university to learn more about crypto. Online learning sites like Udemy, Coursera, edX, and Udacity offer hundreds of courses, including general lessons in foundational cryptography and more specialised classes on blockchain and cryptocurrency”.