List of presidents of the United States by education

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 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) • 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

<table><thead><tr><th>School</th><th>Location</th><th>President(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Allegheny College</td><td>Meadville, Pennsylvania</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Amherst College</td><td>Amherst, Massachusetts</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Bowdoin College</td><td>Brunswick, Maine</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Capital Business College</td><td>Salem, Oregon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>College of William & Mary</td><td>Williamsburg, Virginia</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Columbia University</td><td>New York, New York</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Davidson College</td><td>Davidson, North Carolina</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dickinson College</td><td>Carlisle, Pennsylvania</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Eureka College</td><td>Eureka, Illinois</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fordham University</td><td>Bronx, New York</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Georgetown University</td><td>Washington, D.C.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Georgia Institute of Technology</td><td>Atlanta, Georgia</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Georgia Southwestern State University</td><td>Americus, Georgia</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hampden–Sydney College</td><td>Hampden Sydney, Virginia</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Harvard University</td><td>Cambridge, Massachusetts</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hiram College</td><td>Hiram, Ohio</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Kenyon College</td><td>Gambier, Ohio</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>London School of Economics, University of London</td><td>London, United Kingdom</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Miami University</td><td>Oxford, Ohio</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of Mount Union</td><td>Alliance, Ohio</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Occidental College</td><td>Los Angeles, California</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ohio Central College</td><td>Iberia, Ohio</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of Oxford</td><td>Oxford, United Kingdom</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Princeton University</td><td>Princeton, New Jersey</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Texas State University</td><td>San Marcos, Texas</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Spalding's Commercial College</td><td>Kansas City, Missouri</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Stanford University</td><td>Stanford, California</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Leiden University</td><td>Leiden, Netherlands</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Union College</td><td>Schenectady, New York</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>United States Military Academy</td><td>West Point, New York</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>United States Naval Academy</td><td>Annapolis, Maryland</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of Delaware</td><td>Newark, Delaware</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of Michigan</td><td>Ann Arbor, Michigan</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</td><td>Chapel Hill, North Carolina</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>University of Pennsylvania</td><td>Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Whittier College</td><td>Whittier, California</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Williams College</td><td>Williamstown, Massachusetts</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Yale University</td><td>New Haven, Connecticut</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

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
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

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
Kansas City Law School (now University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law)	Kansas City, Missouri
University of Michigan Law School	Ann Arbor, Michigan
Northampton Law School	Northampton, Massachusetts
State and National Law School	Ballston Spa, New York
Syracuse University College of Law	Syracuse, New York
University of Cincinnati College of Law	Cincinnati, Ohio
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. 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)

School	Location	President(s)
University of Cincinnati College of Law	Cincinnati, Ohio
Duke University School of Law	Durham, North Carolina
Yale Law School	New Haven, Connecticut
Harvard Law School	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Syracuse University College of Law	Syracuse, New York
Columbia Law School	New York, New York

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.

List by president

List of presidents of the United States by education

<table><thead><tr><th>Presidents</th><th>High school or equivalent</th><th>Undergraduate school</th><th>Graduate school</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>George Washington</td><td>Lower Church School</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>John Adams</td><td>Braintree Latin School</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Harvard University (A.M.)</td></tr><tr><td>Thomas Jefferson</td><td>James Maury's School</td><td>The College of William & Mary</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>James Madison</td><td>Donald Robertson's School</td><td>Princeton University</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>James Monroe</td><td>Campbelltown Academy</td><td>The College of William & Mary (did not graduate)</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>John Quincy Adams</td><td>Passy Academy</td><td>Leiden University (transferred) Harvard University</td><td>Harvard University (A.M.)</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Jackson</td><td>William Humphries' Academy James White Stephenson's Academy</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Martin Van Buren</td><td>Kinderhook Academy Washington Seminary</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>William Henry Harrison</td><td>Millfield Academy</td><td>Hampden–Sydney College (withdrew)</td><td>University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (withdrew)</td></tr><tr><td>John Tyler</td><td>College of William & Mary Preparatory School</td><td>The College of William & Mary</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>James K. Polk</td><td>Zion Presbyterian Church Academy Bradley Academy</td><td>University of North Carolina (now University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Zachary Taylor</td><td>Kean O'Hara's Academy</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Millard Fillmore</td><td>New Hope Academy</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Franklin Pierce</td><td>Phillips Exeter Academy</td><td>Bowdoin College</td><td>Northampton Law School (withdrew)</td></tr><tr><td>James Buchanan</td><td>Old Stone Academy</td><td>Dickinson College</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Abraham Lincoln</td><td>Briefly attended schools in Hardin County, Kentucky and Spencer County, Indiana</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Johnson</td><td>Tutored while an apprentice tailor and by his wife</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Ulysses S. Grant</td><td>Maysville Academy</td><td>United States Military Academy</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Rutherford B. Hayes</td><td>Norwalk Seminary The Webb School</td><td>Kenyon College</td><td>Harvard Law School</td></tr><tr><td>James Garfield</td><td>Geauga Seminary</td><td>Hiram College (transferred) Williams College</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Chester A. Arthur</td><td>Schenectady Lyceum and Academy</td><td>Union College</td><td>State and National Law School (did not graduate)</td></tr><tr><td>Grover Cleveland</td><td>Clinton Academy</td><td>none</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Benjamin Harrison</td><td>Farmers' College</td><td>Miami University</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>William McKinley</td><td>Poland Academy</td><td>Allegheny College (withdrew) Mount Union College (now University of Mount Union; withdrew)</td><td>Albany Law School (withdrew)</td></tr><tr><td>Theodore Roosevelt</td><td>Schooled at home by parents and private tutors</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Columbia Law School (withdrew) (awarded J.D. in 2008, class of 1882)</td></tr><tr><td>William Howard Taft</td><td>Woodward High School</td><td>Yale University</td><td>University of Cincinnati College of Law</td></tr><tr><td>Woodrow Wilson</td><td>Schooled at home by parents and private tutors</td><td>Davidson College (transferred) Princeton University</td><td>University of Virginia School of Law (withdrew) Johns Hopkins University Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (Ph.D.)</td></tr><tr><td>Warren G. Harding</td><td>Caledonia High School</td><td>Ohio Central College</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Calvin Coolidge</td><td>Black River Academy St. Johnsbury Academy</td><td>Amherst College</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Herbert Hoover</td><td>Friends Pacific Academy (now George Fox University)</td><td>Capital Business College (attended) Stanford University</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Franklin D. Roosevelt</td><td>Groton School</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Columbia Law School (withdrew) (awarded J.D. in 2008, class of 1907)</td></tr><tr><td>Harry S. Truman</td><td>Independence High School</td><td>Spalding's Commercial College (withdrew)</td><td>Kansas City Law School (now University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law) (withdrew)</td></tr><tr><td>Dwight D. Eisenhower</td><td>Abilene High School</td><td>United States Military Academy (West Point)</td><td>United States Army Command and General Staff College United States Army Industrial College United States Army War College</td></tr><tr><td>John F. Kennedy</td><td>Dexter School The Choate School</td><td>London School of Economics (General Course Program) Princeton University (transferred) Harvard University</td><td>Stanford Graduate School of Business (auditor)</td></tr><tr><td>Lyndon B. Johnson</td><td>Johnson City High School</td><td>Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University)</td><td>Georgetown University Law Center (withdrew)</td></tr><tr><td>Richard Nixon</td><td>Whittier High School</td><td>Whittier College</td><td>Duke University School of Law</td></tr><tr><td>Gerald Ford</td><td>Grand Rapids South High School</td><td>University of Michigan</td><td>University of Michigan Law School (transferred) Yale Law School</td></tr><tr><td>Jimmy Carter</td><td>Plains High School</td><td>Georgia Southwestern College (transferred) Georgia Institute of Technology (transferred) United States Naval Academy</td><td>Union College (Postgraduate Nuclear Physics Course Program)</td></tr><tr><td>Ronald Reagan</td><td>Dixon High School</td><td>Eureka College</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>George H. W. Bush</td><td>Phillips Academy</td><td>Yale University</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Bill Clinton</td><td>Hot Springs High School</td><td>Georgetown University University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar; withdrew)</td><td>Yale Law School (J.D.)</td></tr><tr><td>George W. Bush</td><td>Phillips Academy</td><td>Yale University</td><td>Harvard Business School (M.B.A.)</td></tr><tr><td>Barack Obama</td><td>Punahou School</td><td>Occidental College (transferred) Columbia University</td><td>Harvard Law School (J.D.)</td></tr><tr><td>Donald Trump</td><td>New York Military Academy</td><td>Fordham University (transferred) Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>Joe Biden</td><td>Archmere Academy</td><td>University of Delaware</td><td>Syracuse University College of Law (J.D.)</td></tr></tbody></table>

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
Grover Cleveland	Princeton University	Stafford Little Lecturer on Public Affairs	1899–1908
William Howard Taft	University of Cincinnati College of Law	Dean	1896–1900
Yale Law School	Kent Professor of Law	1913–1921
Boston University School of Law	Lecturer on Legal Ethics	1918–1921
Woodrow Wilson	Bryn Mawr College	Professor of Politics and History	1885–1888
Wesleyan University	Professor of Politics	1888–1890
Princeton University	Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy	1890–1902
Harry S. Truman	Yale University	Chubb Fellow Visiting Lecturer	1958
Canisius College	Visiting Lecturer	1962
Richard Nixon	Whittier College	Adjunct lecturer, taught undergraduate legal studies class	1937–1942
Jimmy Carter	Emory University	University Distinguished Professor	1982–2024
George H. W. Bush	Rice University	Part-Time Professor of Administrative Science	1978
Bill Clinton	University of Arkansas	Assistant Professor of Law	1973–1977
Barack Obama	University of Chicago Law School	Senior Lecturer	1992–2004
Joe Biden	Widener University Delaware Law School	Adjunct Professor	1991–2008
University of Pennsylvania	Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice professor	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
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

<table><thead><tr><th>President(s)</th><th>School</th><th>Position</th><th>Years</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>George Washington</td><td>College of William & Mary</td><td>Chancellor</td><td>1788–1799</td></tr><tr><td>Washington College</td><td>Allowed use of his name, Benefactor, Board of Governors</td><td>1782–1799</td></tr><tr><td>George Washington University</td><td>Left shares in his will to establish a university in the District of Columbia</td><td>1799</td></tr><tr><td>Washington and Lee University</td><td>Benefactor</td><td>1796</td></tr><tr><td>Thomas Jefferson</td><td>University of Virginia</td><td>Board of Visitors</td><td>1819–1826</td></tr><tr><td>James Madison</td><td>University of Virginia</td><td>Board of Visitors</td><td>1819–1836</td></tr><tr><td>Madison College (Pennsylvania)</td><td>Allowed use of his name; benefactor: contributed funds ($2,000 in 1827 dollars) towards founding</td><td>1827</td></tr><tr><td>James Monroe</td><td>George Washington University</td><td>Benefactor</td><td>1821</td></tr><tr><td>University of Virginia</td><td>Board of Visitors</td><td>1826–1831</td></tr><tr><td>John Quincy Adams</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Board of Overseers</td><td>1830–1848</td></tr><tr><td>George Washington University</td><td>Benefactor, Board of Trustees</td><td>1832</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Jackson</td><td>University of Nashville</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1806–1845</td></tr><tr><td>Martin Van Buren</td><td>University of the State of New York</td><td>Board of Regents</td><td>1816–1829</td></tr><tr><td>John Tyler</td><td>College of William & Mary</td><td>Chancellor</td><td>1859–1862</td></tr><tr><td>Ulysses S. Grant</td><td>George Washington University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1869–1877</td></tr><tr><td>Millard Fillmore</td><td>University at Buffalo</td><td>Chancellor</td><td>1846–1874</td></tr><tr><td>Franklin Pierce</td><td>Norwich University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1841–1859</td></tr><tr><td>James Buchanan</td><td>Franklin & Marshall College</td><td>President, Board of Trustees</td><td>1853–1865</td></tr><tr><td>Rutherford B. Hayes</td><td>Ohio State University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1881–1893</td></tr><tr><td>Western Reserve University</td><td>Chairman of the Board of Trustees</td><td>1881–1893</td></tr><tr><td>Ohio Wesleyan University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1884–1893</td></tr><tr><td>James A. Garfield</td><td>Hiram College</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1866–1881</td></tr><tr><td>Hampton University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1877–1881</td></tr><tr><td>Benjamin Harrison</td><td>Purdue University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1895–1901</td></tr><tr><td>Grover Cleveland</td><td>Princeton University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1901–1908</td></tr><tr><td>William McKinley</td><td>American University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1899–1901</td></tr><tr><td>Theodore Roosevelt</td><td>American University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1900–1919</td></tr><tr><td>Harvard University</td><td>Board of Overseers</td><td>1895–1901, 1915–1916</td></tr><tr><td>Tuskegee University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1910-1919</td></tr><tr><td>William Howard Taft</td><td>Yale University</td><td>Member of the Yale Corporation</td><td>1901–1913</td></tr><tr><td>Hampton University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1909–1930</td></tr><tr><td>Warren G. Harding</td><td>American University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1921–1923</td></tr><tr><td>Calvin Coolidge</td><td>Amherst College</td><td>Board of Trustees (life member)</td><td>1921–1933</td></tr><tr><td>Herbert Hoover</td><td>Stanford University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1923–1960</td></tr><tr><td>American University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1945–1950</td></tr><tr><td>Franklin D. Roosevelt</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Board of Overseers</td><td>1917–1923</td></tr><tr><td>Vassar College</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1923–1945</td></tr><tr><td>Dwight D. Eisenhower</td><td>Eisenhower College</td><td>Namesake, fundraiser</td><td>1965–1969</td></tr><tr><td>John F. Kennedy</td><td>Harvard University</td><td>Board of Overseers</td><td>1957–1958</td></tr><tr><td>Jimmy Carter</td><td>Mercer University</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>2012–2024</td></tr><tr><td>Ronald Reagan</td><td>Eureka College</td><td>Board of Trustees</td><td>1947–1953, 1967–1973, 1974–1980</td></tr></tbody></table>