Wharton will be the first Ivy League business school to offer a metaverse certification this autumn. “Business in the Metaverse Economy” is a six-week Wharton curriculum developed in conjunction with Prysm Group. The online, asynchronous course costs $4,500. Registration opens Tuesday for the program’s first run from Sept. 12 to Nov. 6.
The curriculum will teach business and technology professionals how to harness the metaverse as it develops. Kevin Werbach, the program’s academic director, said professional education on the metaverse is lacking
“People are hearing a lot about this, it’s on the cover of Time, but there’s still misunderstanding and mistrust,” said Werbach, a Wharton professor. The ratio of interest to quality, substantial information is off for this topic.
The metaverse is a futuristic digital universe that incorporates augmented and virtual reality. Werbach stated each faculty member will present their own description to start the session. Bloomberg expects the metaverse market will be $800 billion by 2024 and $13 trillion by 2030.
Wharton will teach augmented and virtual reality, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, blockchain, and other digital tools. It will involve industry leader talks, case studies, and “firsthand metaverse technology use.” All of it will be business-oriented, Werbach stated, covering metaverse marketing, consumer experience, and business models.
“Prysm Group managing partner Guido Molinari said the company searched for similar U.S. programs but expects this to be the first. This would be the first certification program focusing on the metaverse’s content and information”, he said.
Werbach called the metaverse “an extraordinarily broad phenomenon,” and the seminar will help participants apply emerging technology in their careers. Many companies are investing in the metaverse, therefore the course is timely.
Wharton is a leader in digital economy education. With its Economics of Blockchain and Digital Assets course last autumn, it became the first U.S. business school to accept digital money as tuition. This program will accept cryptocurrency again. Werbach said blockchain participants overwhelmingly chose the metaverse as an emergent topic to study.
and then