List of presidents of the United States by education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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)[1]
- 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)[2][3][4]
- 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
- Known during McKinley's attendance as Mount Union College.
- Known during Johnson's attendance as Southwest Texas State Teachers College.
- Known as the University of North Carolina until 1963. Since 1972, the "University of North Carolina" name has applied to the state's public university system.
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.[7] 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 | |
| Stanford Business School | Stanford, California |
|
Graduate school
| School | Location | President(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
|
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, Maryland |
Medical school
| School | Location | President(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Department of University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|
Law school
Several presidents who were lawyers did not attend law school, but became lawyers after independent study under the tutelage of established attorneys.[8] 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 |
M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration)
| School | Location | President(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | Boston, Massachusetts |
M.A. (Master of Arts)
| School | Location | President(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
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)
Note: Hayes, Taft, Nixon and Ford were awarded LL.B. degrees.[10][11][12][13] 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.[14][15] Duke University Law School made the change in 1968,[16] and Yale Law School in 1971.[17]
List by president
Other academic associations
Faculty member
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 |
| Millard Fillmore | University at Buffalo | Chancellor | 1846–1874 |
| James A. Garfield | Hiram College | President | 1857–1860 |
| 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 & Mary | Chancellor | 1788–1799 |
| Washington College | Allowed use of his name, Benefactor, Board of Governors | 1782–1799 | |
| George Washington University | Left shares in his will to establish a university in the District of Columbia | 1799 | |
| Washington and Lee University | Benefactor[32] | 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[33] | 1827 | |
| James Monroe | George Washington University | Benefactor | 1821 |
| University of Virginia | Board of Visitors | 1826–1831 | |
| John Quincy Adams | Harvard University | Board of Overseers | 1830–1848 |
| George Washington University | Benefactor, Board of Trustees | 1832 | |
| Andrew Jackson | University of Nashville | Board of Trustees | 1806–1845[34] |
| Martin Van Buren | University of the State of New York | Board of Regents | 1816–1829 |
| John Tyler | College of William & Mary | Chancellor | 1859–1862 |
| Ulysses S. Grant | George Washington University | Board of Trustees | 1869–1877 |
| 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 | 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 | |
| Tuskegee University | Board of Trustees | 1910-1919 | |
| 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 | 2012–2024 |
| Ronald Reagan | Eureka College | Board of Trustees | 1947–1953, 1967–1973, 1974–1980 |