MBA programs at Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, and Georgetown are adding more blockchain and crypto classes in 2018 to keep up with demand from students and their future employees, CNBC reported.
In May the Stanford Graduate School of Business will be adding a new full-time course called "Cryptocurrency."
"Many of us will have to discuss blockchain at our jobs. It makes sense to teach it," said Itamar Orr, a second-year student.
"It gets you a competitive advantage; it's an extra hammer in your toolbox."
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is also adding a class in the fall. "Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Distributed Ledger Technology" will be taught for the first time as of 2018 by professor Kevin Werbach.
"We're at the point where there's a critical mass to teach this domain," Werbach said. "There will be a real phenomenon in business for the foreseeable future, and five years down the road there won't be too many major business schools that don't offer similar classes."
John Jacobs, executive director of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business believes that “any world-class program is going to have to equip students in this field to compete.”
The move to add cryptocurrency courses is being largely spurred by recruiters, especially in venture capital, which saw an 88 percent increase in blockchain investments in 2017.
By Jade Olafson