List of presidents of the United States by education
Most presidents of the United States received a college education, even most of the earliest. Of the first seven presidents, five were college graduates. College degrees have set the presidents apart from the general population, and presidents have held degrees even though it was quite rare and unnecessary for practicing most occupations, including law. Of the forty-four individuals to have been the president, twenty-four of them graduated from a private undergraduate college, nine graduated from a public undergraduate college, and twelve held no degree. Every president since 1953 has had a bachelor's degree, reflecting the increasing importance of higher education in the United States.
List by university attended[]
Did not graduate from college[]
- George Washington (Although the death of Washington's father ended his formal schooling, he received a surveyor's certificate from the College of William and Mary. Washington believed strongly in formal education, and his will left money and/or stocks to support three educational institutions.)[1]
- James Monroe (attended the College of William and Mary, but dropped out to fight in the Revolutionary War)
- Andrew Jackson
- Martin Van Buren
- William Henry Harrison (attended Hampden Sydney College for three years but did not graduate and then attended University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine but never received a degree)[2][3][4]
- Zachary Taylor
- Millard Fillmore (founded the University at Buffalo)
- Abraham Lincoln (had only about a year of formal schooling of any kind)
- Andrew Johnson (no formal schooling of any kind)
- Grover Cleveland
- William McKinley (attended Allegheny College, but did not graduate; also attended Albany Law School, but also did not graduate)
- Harry S. Truman (went to business college and law school, but did not graduate)
Undergraduate[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Allegheny College | Meadville, Pennsylvania |
|
Amherst College | Amherst, Massachusetts | |
Bowdoin College | Brunswick, Maine |
|
The College of William & Mary | Williamsburg, Virginia |
|
Columbia University | New York, New York |
|
Davidson College | Davidson, North Carolina |
|
Dickinson College | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | |
Eureka College | Eureka, Illinois |
|
Fordham University | New York, New York |
|
Georgetown University | Washington, D.C. |
|
Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, Georgia |
|
Georgia Southwestern State University | Americus, Georgia |
|
Hampden–Sydney College | Hampden Sydney, Virginia |
|
Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
|
Hiram College | Hiram, Ohio |
|
Kenyon College | Gambier, Ohio |
|
London School of EconomicsA | London, United Kingdom |
|
Miami University | Oxford, Ohio |
|
Mount Union College | Alliance, Ohio |
|
Occidental College | Los Angeles, California |
|
Ohio Central College | Iberia, Ohio |
|
Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey |
|
Texas State University | San Marcos, Texas |
|
Spalding's Commercial College | Kansas City, Missouri |
|
Stanford University | Stanford, California |
|
Leiden University | Leiden, Netherlands |
|
Union College | Schenectady, New York |
|
University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware |
|
University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
|
University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
|
University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|
United States Military Academy | West Point, New York |
|
United States Naval Academy | Annapolis, Maryland |
|
Whittier College | Whittier, California |
|
Williams College | Williamstown, Massachusetts |
|
Yale University | New Haven, Connecticut |
|
- A.^ JFK enrolled, but did not attend
Additional undergraduate information[]
Some presidents attended more than one institution. George Washington never attended college, though The College of William & Mary did issue him a surveyor's certificate.[5] Two presidents have attended a foreign college at the undergraduate level: John Quincy Adams at Leiden University and Bill Clinton at the University of Oxford (John F. Kennedy intended to study at the London School of Economics, but failed to attend as he fell ill before classes began.)
Three presidents have attended the United States Service academies: Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, while Jimmy Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. No presidents have graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy or the much newer U.S. Air Force Academy. Eisenhower also graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College, Army Industrial College and Army War College. These were not degree granting institutions when Eisenhower attended, but were part of his professional education as a career soldier.
Graduate school[]
A total of 18 presidents attended some form of graduate school (including professional schools). Among them, nine presidents received a graduate degree during their lifetimes; two more received graduate degrees posthumously.
Business school[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Stanford University Graduate School of Business | Palo Alto, California |
|
Harvard Business School | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
|
Political science[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences | Baltimore, Maryland |
|
Medical school[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|
Law school[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Albany Law School | Albany, New York |
|
Columbia Law School | New York, New York |
|
Duke University School of Law | Durham, North Carolina |
|
Georgetown University Law Center | Washington, D.C. |
|
Harvard Law School | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
|
University of Michigan Law School | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
|
Northampton Law School | Northampton, Massachusetts |
|
State and National Law School | Ballston Spa, New York |
|
Syracuse Law School | Syracuse, New York |
|
University of Cincinnati College of Law | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
University of Kansas City School of Law | Kansas City, Missouri |
|
University of Virginia School of Law | Charlottesville, Virginia |
|
Yale Law School | New Haven, Connecticut |
|
Several presidents who were lawyers did not attend law school, but became lawyers after independent study under the tutelage of established attorneys.[6] Some had attended college before beginning their legal studies, and several studied law without first having attended college. Presidents who were lawyers but did not attend law school include: John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; James Monroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; John Tyler; James K. Polk; Millard Fillmore; James Buchanan; Abraham Lincoln; James A. Garfield; Grover Cleveland; Benjamin Harrison; and Calvin Coolidge.
Presidents who were admitted to the bar after a combination of law school and independent study include; Franklin Pierce; Chester A. Arthur; William McKinley; and Woodrow Wilson.
List by graduate degree earned[]
Ph.D. (doctorate)[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, Maryland |
|
M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration)[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
Harvard Business School | Boston, Massachusetts |
|
J.D. or LL.B. (law degree)[]
School | Location | President(s) |
---|---|---|
University of Cincinnati College of Law | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
Duke University Law School | Durham, North Carolina |
|
Yale Law School | New Haven, Connecticut |
|
Harvard Law School | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
|
Syracuse Law School | Syracuse, New York |
|
Note: Hayes, Taft, Nixon and Ford were awarded LL.B. degrees.[7][8][9][10] When U.S. law schools began to use the J.D. as the professional law degree in the 1960s, previous graduates had the choice of converting their LL.B. degrees to a J.D.[11][12] Duke University Law School made the change in 1968,[13] and Yale Law School in 1971.[14] Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, both of whom attended Columbia Law School but withdrew before graduating, were awarded posthumous J.D. degrees in 2008.[15]
List by president[]
Presidents | High school or equivalent | Undergraduate school | Graduate school |
---|---|---|---|
George Washington | Glenwood High School | none | none |
John Adams | Braintree Latin School | Harvard University | none |
Thomas Jefferson | James Maury's School | The College of William and Mary | none |
James Madison | Donald Robertson's School | Princeton University | none |
James Monroe | Campbelltown Academy | The College of William and Mary (did not graduate) | none |
John Quincy Adams | Passy Academy | Leiden University (transferred) Harvard University |
none |
Andrew Jackson | William Humphries' Academy James White Stephenson's Academy |
none | none |
Martin Van Buren | Kinderhook Academy Washington Seminary |
none | none |
William Henry Harrison | Millfield Academy | Hampden–Sydney College (withdrew) | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (withdrew) |
John Tyler | College of William and Mary Preparatory School | The College of William and Mary | none |
James K. Polk | Zion Presbyterian Church Academy Bradley Academy |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | none |
Zachary Taylor | Kean O'Hara's Academy[16] | none | none |
Millard Fillmore | New Hope Academy | none | none |
Franklin Pierce | Phillips Exeter Academy | Bowdoin College | Northampton Law School (withdrew) |
James Buchanan | Old Stone Academy | Dickinson College | none |
Abraham Lincoln | none | none | none |
Andrew Johnson | none | none | none |
Ulysses S. Grant | Maysville Academy | United States Military Academy | none |
Rutherford B. Hayes | Norwalk Seminary The Webb School |
Kenyon College | Harvard Law School |
James Garfield | Geauga Seminary | Hiram College (transferred) Williams College |
none |
Chester A. Arthur | Schenectady Lyceum and Academy | Union College | State and National Law School (did not graduate) |
Grover Cleveland | Clinton Academy | none | none |
Benjamin Harrison | Farmers' College | Miami University | none |
William McKinley | Poland Academy | Allegheny College (withdrew) Mount Union College (withdrew) |
Albany Law School (withdrew) |
Theodore Roosevelt | Schooled at home by parents and private tutors | Harvard University | Columbia Law School (withdrew) (awarded J.D. in 2008, class of 1882) |
William Howard Taft | Woodward High School | Yale University | University of Cincinnati College of Law |
Woodrow Wilson | Schooled at home by parents and private tutors | Davidson College (transferred) Princeton University |
University of Virginia School of Law (withdrew) Johns Hopkins University (Ph.D.) |
Warren G. Harding | Caledonia High School | Ohio Central College | none |
Calvin Coolidge | Black River Academy St. Johnsbury Academy |
Amherst College | none |
Herbert Hoover | Attended business courses as a teenager in Oregon, Schooled by private tutor prior to attending college |
Stanford University | none |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Groton School | Harvard University | Columbia Law School (withdrew) (awarded J.D. in 2008, class of 1907) |
Harry S. Truman | Independence High School | Spalding's Commercial College (withdrew) | University of Kansas City School of Law (withdrew) |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Abilene High School | United States Military Academy (West Point) | United States Army Command and General Staff College United States Army Industrial College United States Army War College |
John F. Kennedy | The Choate School | London School of Economics (General Course Program) Princeton University (transferred) Harvard University |
Stanford Graduate School of Business (auditor) |
Lyndon B. Johnson | Johnson City High School | Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University) | Georgetown University Law Center (withdrew) |
Richard Nixon | Whittier High School | Whittier College | Duke University School of Law |
Gerald Ford | Grand Rapids South High School | University of Michigan | University of Michigan Law School (transferred) Yale Law School |
Jimmy Carter | Plains High School | Georgia Southwestern College (transferred) Georgia Institute of Technology (transferred) United States Naval Academy |
Union College (Postgraduate Nuclear Physics Course Program) |
Ronald Reagan | Dixon High School | Eureka College | none |
George H. W. Bush | Phillips Academy | Yale University | none |
Bill Clinton | Hot Springs High School | Georgetown University | University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar; withdrew) Yale Law School |
George W. Bush | Phillips Academy | Yale University | Harvard Business School |
Barack Obama | Punahou School | Occidental College (transferred) Columbia University |
Harvard Law School |
Donald Trump | New York Military Academy | Fordham University (transferred) Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
none |
Joe Biden | Archmere Academy | University of Delaware | Syracuse University College of Law |
Other academic associations[]
Faculty member[]
President(s) | School | Position | Years |
---|---|---|---|
James A. Garfield | Hiram College | Professor of Latin, Greek, Mathematics, History, Philosophy, Rhetoric and English literature | 1857–1861[17] |
Grover Cleveland | Princeton University | Stafford Little Lecturer on Public Affairs | 1899–1908[18] |
William Howard Taft | University of Cincinnati College of Law | Dean | 1896–1900[19] |
Yale Law School | Kent Professor of Law | 1913–1921 | |
Boston University School of Law | Lecturer on Legal Ethics[20] | 1918–1921 | |
Woodrow Wilson | Bryn Mawr College | Professor of Politics and History | 1885–1888[21] |
Wesleyan University | Professor of Politics | 1888–1890[21] | |
Princeton University | Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy | 1890–1902 | |
Harry S. Truman | Yale University | Chubb Fellow Visiting Lecturer | 1958[22] |
Canisius College | Visiting Lecturer | 1962[23] | |
Richard Nixon | Whittier College | Adjunct lecturer, taught undergraduate legal studies class | 1937–1942 |
Jimmy Carter | Emory University | University Distinguished Professor | 1982–Present |
George H. W. Bush | Rice University | Part-Time Professor of Administrative Science | 1978 |
Bill Clinton | University of Arkansas | Assistant Professor of Law[24] | 1973–1977 |
Barack Obama | University of Chicago Law School | Senior Lecturer[25] | 1992–2004 |
Joe Biden | Widener University Delaware Law School | Adjunct Professor[26] | 1991-2008 |
University of Pennsylvania | Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice professor[27] | 2017-2019 |
School rector or president[]
President(s) | School | Position | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Thomas Jefferson | University of Virginia | 1st Rector | 1819–1826 |
James Madison | University of Virginia | 2nd Rector | 1826–1836 |
James A. Garfield | Hiram College | President | 1857–1860 |
Millard Fillmore | University of Buffalo | Chancellor | 1846–1874 |
Woodrow Wilson | Princeton University | President | 1902–1910 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Columbia University | President | 1948–1953 |
School trustee or governor[]
President(s) | School | Position | Years |
---|---|---|---|
George Washington | College of William and Mary | Chancellor | 1788–1799 |
Washington College | Allowed use of his name, Benefactor, Board of Governors | 1782–1799 | |
Washington and Lee University | Benefactor[28] | 1796 | |
Thomas Jefferson | University of Virginia | Board of Visitors | 1819–1826 |
James Madison | University of Virginia | Board of Visitors | 1819–1836 |
Madison College (Pennsylvania) | Allowed use of his name; benefactor: contributed funds ($2,000 in 1827 dollars) towards founding[29] | 1827 | |
James Monroe | University of Virginia | Board of Visitors | 1826–1831 |
John Quincy Adams | Harvard University | Board of Overseers | 1830–1848 |
Andrew Jackson | University of Nashville | Board of Trustees | 1806–1845[30] |
Martin Van Buren | University of the State of New York | Board of Regents | 1816–1829 |
John Tyler | College of William and Mary | Chancellor | 1859–1862 |
Millard Fillmore | University at Buffalo | Chancellor | 1846–1874 |
Franklin Pierce | Norwich University | Board of Trustees | 1841–1859 |
James Buchanan | Franklin & Marshall College | President, Board of Trustees | 1853–1865 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | The Ohio State University | Board of Trustees | 1881–1893 |
Western Reserve University | Chairman of the Board of Trustees | 1881–1893 | |
Ohio Wesleyan University | Board of Trustees | 1884–1893 | |
James A. Garfield | Hiram College | Board of Trustees | 1866–1881 |
Hampton University | Board of Trustees | 1877–1881 | |
Benjamin Harrison | Purdue University | Board of Trustees | 1895–1901 |
Grover Cleveland | Princeton University | Board of Trustees | 1901–1908 |
William McKinley | American University | Board of Trustees | 1899–1901 |
Theodore Roosevelt | American University | Board of Trustees | 1900–1919 |
Harvard University | Board of Overseers | 1895–1901, 1915–1916 | |
William Howard Taft | Yale University | Member of the Yale Corporation | 1901–1913 |
Hampton University | Board of Trustees | 1909–1930 | |
Warren G. Harding | American University | Board of Trustees | 1921–1923 |
Calvin Coolidge | Amherst College | Board of Trustees (life member) | 1921–1933 |
Herbert Hoover | Stanford University | Board of Trustees | 1923–1960 |
American University | Board of Trustees | 1945–1950 | |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Harvard University | Board of Overseers | 1917–1923 |
Vassar College | Board of Trustees | 1923–1945 | |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Eisenhower College | Namesake, fundraiser | 1965–1969 |
John F. Kennedy | Harvard University | Board of Overseers | 1957–1958 |
Jimmy Carter | Mercer University | Board of Trustees | 2012–present |
Ronald Reagan | Eureka College | Board of Trustees | 1947–1953, 1967–1973, 1974–1980 |
See also[]
- List of prime ministers of Australia by education
- List of prime ministers of Canada by academic degrees
- List of presidents of the Philippines by education
- List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by education
References[]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2008-11-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Freehling, William (October 4, 2016). "William Henry Harrison: Impact and Legacy". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia.
- ^ https://millercenter.org/president/harrison/life-before-the-presidency accessed August 13, 2021
- ^ Owens, Robert M. (2007). Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3842-8.
- ^ "George Washington's Professional Surveys". U.S. National Archives. 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ "Lincoln Legal Career Timeline". Abraham Lincoln Online.org. Abraham Lincoln Online. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ Hoogenboom, Ari (1995). Rutherford Hayes: Warrior and President. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-7006-0641-2.
- ^ "William Howard Taft". Laws.com. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Gellman, Irwin F. (2017). The Contender: Richard Nixon, the Congress Years, 1946–1952. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-300-22020-9.
- ^ "Gerald R. Ford Biography". Fordlibrarymuseum.gov/. Grand rapids, MI: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Bear, John (2001). Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-58008-202-0.
- ^ Hylton, J. Gordon (January 11, 2012). "Why the Law Degree is Called a J.D. and not an LL.B." Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University.
- ^ Bolich, W. Bryan (1968). Duke Law School 1868–1968: A Sketch (PDF). Durham, NC: Duke University Law School. p. xxiv.
- ^ Mwenda, Kenneth Kaoma (2007). Comparing American and British Legal Education Systems. Youngstown, NY: Cambria Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-934-043-51-6.
- ^ Kelly, Erin St. John (September 25, 2008). "Presidents Roosevelt Awarded Posthumous J.D.s". Columbia law School News. New York, NY: Columbia Law School.
- ^ Johnston, J. Stoddard (1913). "Sketch of Theodore O'Hara". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Frankfort, KY: State Journal Company. p. 67.
- ^ Joseph Nathan Kane, Facts About the Presidents (New York: Simon & Schuster [Pocket Books], 1968 [5th printing]), 194.
- ^ Leitch, Alexander (1978). "Biography, Grover Cleveland". A Princeton Companion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
- ^ UC.edu Archived 2006-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "BU School of Law Timeline". Boston University. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Biography of Wilson on Princeton Web.
- ^ Robert H. Ferrell, Farewell to the Chief: Former Presidents in American Public Life, 1991, page 52
- ^ U.S. Government Printing Office, Congressional Record, Volume 108, Part 4, 1962, page 5168.
- ^ Kaczynski, Andrew; Apper, Megan (February 2, 2015). "Here's Bill Clinton's Personnel File From His Time As An Arkansas College Professor". buzzfeednews.com/. New York, NY: Buzzfeednews.com.
- ^ "Statement regarding Barack Obama". University of Chicago Law School. March 27, 2008. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- Miller, Joe (March 28, 2008). "Was Barack Obama really a constitutional law professor?". FactCheck.org. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- Holan, Angie Drobnic (March 7, 2008). "Obama's 20 years of experience". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- ^ Carey, Kathleen E. (August 27, 2008). "Widener students proud of Biden". Daily Times. Denver, CO: MediaNews Group, Inc.
- ^ Shelbourne, Talis (October 15, 2020). "Fact Check: Was Joe Biden Ever a 'Professor in College'?". Heavy.com. New York, NY.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-01-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Reynolds, G.T. (1902). "Madison College". In Haskins, Charles Homer; Hull, William Isaac (eds.). A History of Higher Education in Pennsylvania. Government Printing Office. pp. 155–7.
Madison College Pennsylvania.
- ^ University of Nashville Board of Trustees (1892). The University of Nashville, 1785 to 1892. Nashville, TN: Marshall & Bruce. p. 5. Note: In 1791, Jackson was appointed to the board of trustees of Davidson Academy. Jackson continued on the board when the school was reorganized as Cumberland College in 1806. In 1826, Cumberland College was reincorporated as the University of Nashville, and Jackson remained a member of the board of trustees until his death.
- Lists relating to the United States presidency
- United States education-related lists