How to get blockchain education in the USA, Europe and Asia

Corporations, banks and state institutions are interested in blockchain. Blockchain specialists are desperately lacked, and their salaries are going through the roof. We have collected information about universities in the USA, Europe and Asia, which train specialists in blockchain. If you are thinking where to explore the blockchain, here’s the article.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency programs are taught mainly at the faculties of computer science and mathematics, sometimes at the faculties of finance, business or economics, and in some universities — at the faculties of social sciences.

Leading blockchain specialists and specialists in cryptocurrencies have already received at least $ 250,000 a year, — says Jerry Cuomo, vice president of the blockchain division of IBM. According to him, blockchain is one of the highest paid categories among software specialists.

Here’s how to get educated in the field of blockchain in different countries.

USA

MIT and Stanford offer the most advanced courses on blockchain.

MIT — Massachusetts technology institute. The course is called «Designing and creating cryptocurrencies».

Stanford University offers more programs to study blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Students of all specialties and all levels — bachelor’s, master’s, MBA can attend an open course on blockchain in Stanford.

The research center of blockchain with the support of the fund the Ethereum opened in 2017 at Stanford University. It is headed by computer science Professor Dan Bonea and David Masters. One of the tasks of the center is to prepare courses for students, so that in the future there will be more programs on the blockchain.

University: Stanford (Stanford University)

Programs:

1. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies;
2. Cryptography;
3. Free online cryptography course open to the public;
4. Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies: Law, Economics, Business and Policy;
5. Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies: Technical Background.

Language: English

How to enter the baccalaureate:

— to complete application,
 — to pay a registration fee of $90,
 — to pass the SAT texts on 1390 – 1540 points and ACT on 32 – 35 points and TOEFL on 100 points,
 — to have an average point in all subjects (GPA) at least 4.8,
 — to provide a school certificate and a report on academic performance for six months, a statement from the school and the recommendations of two teachers,
 — to write an essay on a given topic, a motivation letter and provide a portfolio.

How much does it cost. The average tuition is $ 86,000 per year, but more than 80% of students receive financial support. The average scholarship is $ 50,000. If the student’s family income is below $ 65,000 per year, he can count on financial assistance. The financial minimum that a student will have to spend on preferential admission to Stanford is about $5,000 per year.

Stanford is far from being the only University in the States, offering blockchain education. Such programs are also available in Cornwall, Massachusetts, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, California, new York, Princeton and other educational institutions. In 2017, the University of Texas received funding from Ripple: the company plans to spend $2 million over 5 years to support the University’s blockchain research program. Ripple also sent money to the Massachusetts technology institute, Princeton University and a number of other educational institutions.

There are many opportunities to learn blockchain in the States, but also it has the highest competition: for example, in Berkeley, the course «Blockchain, crypto‐Economics and the future of technology, business and law» is designed for 70 people, but has 250 applicants.

The salary. The blockchain specialists in the US are usually offered from $100,000 to $200,000 a year and above. Jobs blockchain specialists in the United States. Information from Indeed​.com

Jobs blockchain specialists in the United States. Information from Indeed​.com

Europe

In the program of European universities blockchain programs are still represented poorly. One of the few universities, offering courses on the blockchain, is University of Edinburgh. Training is available only in the master’s degree for graduate students of four specialties: Design Informatics, Advanced Design Informatics, Computer Science, Informatics ILCC.

University: University of Edinburgh
Program: Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers
Language: English

How to enter the magistracy:

— to have a UK recognised diploma in a specific field,
 — to submit an application, demonstrating the computer programming skills,
 — the motivation letter,
 — to confirm the knowledge of English by international language tests TOEFL and other international certificates not older than 2 years.

How much does it cost. Payment depends on the chosen specialty. For example, at Design Informatics you need to study the year; the price is £ 13,000 for EU residents, and £ 30,000 for residents of other countries. In other specialties you can study for 4500 pounds per year, but it has the part‐time training and leads for 2 – 3 years.

It is possible to study through postgraduate credits and scholarships for students from Scotland /ЕС.

The University of Edinburgh offers online distance learning opportunities as well as free mini courses in many specialties, but there is no blockchain among these programs.

The blockchain courses are also taught at the Swiss higher technical school of Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of technology Zurich).

The salary. The salaries of blockchain specialists in Europe start from 30 000 euros per year, experienced specialists receive from 100 000 euros and above.

Vacancies of blockchain specialists in Europe. Information from the site cryptojobslist​.com

Asia

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has its own blockchain laboratory and several courses on blockchain.

University: The National University of Singapore (NUS)
Program: Cryptography Theory and Practice (Information Security department)
Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (Computing in Information Systems department)
Introduction to blockchain & DLT for executives (MBA)

Language: it is possible to study in two languages or to choose the language of instruction. For foreigners is English.

How to enter the baccalaureate:

— to have a full secondary education for at least 12 years, including 10 years of school and 2 courses at the University,
 — to pass tests from IELTS from 6.0, TOEFL from 98,
 — to provide the result of SAT I and SAT II,
 — to provide the characteristics of teachers,
 — to pass an interview (for foreigners it is possible via Skype).

Non‐academic merit is also taken into account. Other tests also may be required, depending on the faculty and specialization.

How much does it cost. The cost of training at the faculty of information technology and the faculty of applied Sciences — $ 36 000 per year. It’s the baccalaureate.

The salary. In Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong salaries of blockchain specialists are from $15 000 to $200 000 per year.

Salaries of blockchain specialists in Asia. Information from angel​.co

Blockchain courses

In addition to studying at the University, you can study on your own. There are many online tutorials and courses of blockchain. As a rule, they are designed for people who have a background in the field of IT, mathematics or programming.

For example, the Coursera platform with Princeton University has been conducting a free course on cryptocurrencies for 11 weeks since 2015. The course is available in English.

The California University Berkeley has developed a 6‐week Blockchain Fundamentals course that can be passed for $178.

There are also IBM Blockchain Foundation for Developers courses from IBM DeveloperWorks, and Blockchain for business from Linux FoundationX.

What I will have as a result

Today, blockchain is one of those niches in the labor market where demand is much higher than supply. The average salary of a blockchain specialist is much higher than the salary of an ordinary IT specialist, so the study of blockchain pays for itself.

Judging by the number of projects that are developed on the blockchain by corporations, banks and governments of different countries, the demand for blockchain specialists will only grow on the horizon of 5 – 10 years.