Which Universities Are the Best for Blockchain?

Universities have historically been central to getting new industries off the ground. Stanford was instrumental in the rise of Silicon Valley, and the MIT has helped birth thousands of tech startups, from artificial intelligence to aerospace.

What role will universities play in the development of blockchain technology? Will they be as pivotal as before, or will the cryptocurrency industry, by nature distrustful of institutions and central authorities, develop its own academic methods and learning approaches?

CoinDesk is keen to track how universities are doing when it comes to blockchain education across courses, employment outcomes, student services and research. In October 2020, we published our first ranking of the top 20 U.S. schools for getting an education in blockchain (MIT, Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley were the top three).

This year, we're going further, analyzing 200 schools in the U.S. and internationally and adding ranking categories.

To identify the best schools, we need your help. We're asking students, practicing academics and industry stakeholders to give their opinions in the survey below.

Don't worry, it doesn't take long. You can choose between a quick one-minute questionnaire and a deeper five-minute one. And you’ll be doing a valuable service: Our goal in tracking and comparing what universities are doing on blockchain education and research is to improve overall standards – and, in turn, the entire industry.

We’ve seen plenty of blockchain startups emerge from universities already, including Ava Labs from Cornell and Algorand from MIT. Most leading schools now offer classes in blockchain subjects. Some have built research centers, hired specialist faculty and sanctioned student clubs.

The big question is whether universities can remain relevant to such a fast-moving industry. Many in crypto are suspicious of institutions and credentialism, favoring self-education, online innovation and community-based approaches. Universities themselves have to come to grips with this decentralization of information. Let’s see how well they’re up to the test.

If you are a faculty or staff member at an accredited university and you are concerned that your school will not be represented in our rankings, please reach out to joe.lautzenhiser [at] coindesk.com. If we are not currently collecting data on your school, you will have the opportunity to provide data and place your school under consideration. Student emails will not be answered.