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 45 individuals to have been the president, 24 graduated from a private undergraduate college, 9 graduated from a public undergraduate college, and 12 held no degree. Every president since 1953 has had a bachelor's degree, reflecting the increasing importance of higher education in the United States. 16 presidents received a Bachelor's or advanced degree from colleges in the Ivy League.
List by university attended Did not graduate from college George Washington (The death of Washington's father ended his formal schooling. The College of William & Mary issued surveying licenses in Virginia, and Washington received his license from the College in 1749 — surveyors did not attend classes at the school. Washington believed strongly in formal education, and his will left money and/or stocks to support three educational institutions, including George Washington University and Washington and Lee University) James Monroe (attended the College of William & Mary, but dropped out to fight in the Revolutionary War) Andrew Jackson (qualified as a lawyer in the age before law schools, where a kind of apprenticeship system was used) Martin Van Buren (read for the law, like Jackson) 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)Freehling, William (October 4, 2016). "William Henry Harrison: Impact and Legacy". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Zachary Taylor (received an Army commission without any formal training) Millard Fillmore (read for the law; 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 (read for the law) 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 LocationDegree President(s) Allegheny College Meadville, PennsylvaniaN/A William McKinley (withdrew) Amherst College Amherst, MassachusettsBachelor of Arts Calvin Coolidge Bowdoin College Brunswick, MaineBachelor of Arts Franklin Pierce College of William & Mary Williamsburg, Virginia N/A N/A Bachelor of Arts Thomas Jefferson James Monroe (withdrew) John Tyler Columbia University New York, New YorkB.A. Political Science Barack Obama Davidson College Davidson, North CarolinaN/A Woodrow Wilson (transferred to Princeton University) Dickinson College Carlisle, PennsylvaniaBachelor of Arts James Buchanan Eureka College Eureka, IllinoisB.A. Economics and Sociology Ronald Reagan Fordham University Bronx, New YorkN/A Donald Trump (transferred to the University of Pennsylvania) Georgetown University Washington, D.C.B.S. Foreign Services Bill Clinton Georgia Southwestern State University Americus, GeorgiaN/A Jimmy Carter (transferred to Georgia Institute of Technology) Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GeorgiaN/A Jimmy Carter (transferred to United States Naval Academy) Hampden–Sydney College Hampden Sydney, VirginiaN/A William Henry Harrison (withdrew) Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Arts B.A. History B.A. Government John Adams John Quincy Adams Theodore Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt John F. Kennedy Hiram College Hiram, OhioBachelor of Arts James A. Garfield (transferred to Williams College) Kenyon College Gambier, OhioBA Rutherford B. Hayes London School of Economics, University of London London, United KingdomN/A John F. Kennedy (enrolled, but did not attend; transferred to Princeton University) Miami University Oxford, OhioBachelor of Arts Benjamin Harrison University of Mount Union Alliance, OhioN/A William McKinley (withdrew) Occidental College Los Angeles, CaliforniaB.A. Political Science Barack Obama (transferred to Columbia University) Ohio Central College Iberia, OhioBachelor of Science Warren G. Harding University of Oxford Oxford, United KingdomN/A Bill Clinton (attended for two years as a Rhodes Scholar, but left without completing a degree to take a scholarship at Yale Law School) Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey N/A Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Arts John F. Kennedy (transferred to Harvard University) James Madison Woodrow Wilson Texas State University San Marcos, TexasB.S. History Lyndon B. Johnson Spalding's Commercial College Kansas City, MissouriN/A Harry S. Truman (withdrew) Stanford University Stanford, CaliforniaB.A. Geology Herbert Hoover Leiden University Leiden, NetherlandsN/A John Quincy Adams (transferred to Harvard University)Union CollegeSchenectady, New YorkBachelor of Arts Chester A. Arthur United States Military Academy West Point, New YorkN/A B.S.Ulysses S. Grant Dwight D. Eisenhower United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MarylandB.S.Jimmy Carter University of Delaware Newark, DelawareDouble Major, B.A. History and Political Science Joe Biden University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MichiganB.A. Economics Gerald Ford University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North CarolinaBachelor of Arts James K. Polk University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania B.S. Economics Classical Education Donald Trump William Henry Harrison (attended University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine but never received a degree) Whittier College Whittier, CaliforniaBachelor of Arts Richard Nixon Williams College Williamstown, MassachusettsBachelor of Arts James A. Garfield Yale University New Haven, Connecticut Bachelor of Arts B.S. Economics B.A. History William Howard Taft George H. W. Bush George W. Bush
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. One president attended a foreign college at the undergraduate level: John Quincy Adams at Leiden University (John F. Kennedy intended to study at the London School of Economics, but failed to attend as he fell ill before classes began.) Bill Clinton won a Rhodes Scholarship, enrolling at the University of Oxford in Fall 1968, where he read for a BPhil in politics. He left Oxford without earning a degree in order to enroll at Yale Law School.
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 United States 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 21 presidents attended some form of graduate school (including professional schools). Among them, eleven presidents received a graduate degree during their lifetimes; two more received graduate degrees posthumously.
Business school School Location President(s) Harvard Business School Boston, Massachusetts George W. Bush (MBA) Stanford Business School Stanford, California John F. Kennedy (withdrew)
Graduate school School Location President(s) Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts John Adams (AM) John Quincy Adams (AM) Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Woodrow Wilson (PhD)
Medical school School Location President(s) Medical Department of University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania William Henry Harrison (withdrew)
Law school School Location President(s) Albany Law School Albany, New York William McKinley (withdrew) Columbia Law School New York, New York Theodore Roosevelt (withdrew; JD awarded posthumously in 2008, Class of 1882) Franklin D. Roosevelt (withdrew; JD awarded posthumously in 2008, Class of 1907) Duke University School of Law Durham, North Carolina Richard Nixon (LLB) Georgetown University Law Center Washington, D.C. Lyndon B. Johnson (withdrew) Harvard Law School Cambridge, Massachusetts Rutherford B. Hayes (LLB) Barack Obama (JD) Kansas City Law School(now University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law) Kansas City, Missouri Harry S. Truman (withdrew) University of Michigan Law School Ann Arbor, Michigan Gerald Ford (transferred) Northampton Law School Northampton, Massachusetts Franklin Pierce (did not graduate) State and National Law School Ballston Spa, New York Chester A. Arthur (did not graduate) Syracuse University College of Law Syracuse, New York Joe Biden (JD) Cincinnati Law School Cincinnati, Ohio William Howard Taft (LLB) University of Virginia School of Law Charlottesville, Virginia Woodrow Wilson (withdrew) Yale Law School New Haven, Connecticut Gerald Ford (LLB) Bill Clinton (JD)
Several presidents who were lawyers did not attend law school, but became lawyers after independent study under the tutelage of established attorneys. 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. (research doctorate) School Location President(s) Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Woodrow Wilson
M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) School Location President(s) Harvard Business School Boston, Massachusetts George W. Bush
M.A. (Master of Arts) School Location President(s) Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts John Adams John Quincy Adams
Note: John Adams and John Quincy Adams, along with George W. Bush are the only presidents to date to attain master's degrees.
J.D. or LL.B. (law) School Location President(s) University of Cincinnati College of Law Cincinnati, Ohio William Howard Taft Duke University School of Law Durham, North Carolina Richard Nixon Yale Law School New Haven, Connecticut Gerald Ford Bill Clinton Harvard Law School Cambridge, Massachusetts Rutherford B. Hayes Barack Obama Syracuse University College of Law Syracuse, New York Joe Biden Columbia Law School New York, New York Theodore Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
Note: Hayes, Taft, Nixon and Ford were awarded LL.B. degrees. When most U.S. law schools began to award the J.D. as the professional degree in law during the 1960s, previous graduates had the choice of converting their LL.B. degrees to a J.D. Duke University Law School made the change in 1968, and Yale Law School in 1971.
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