Presidents by Education 2024

Did Any Presidents Not Graduate From College?

Even though a lot of people assume that presidents of the United States are very well-educated, there are actually a lot of people who served as president of the United States and did not graduate from college. For example, George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Martin van Buren never graduated from college. James Monroe attended the College of William and Mary, but he ended up dropping out to fight in the Revolutionary War. In addition, William Henry Harrison attended Hampden-Sydney college for three years, but he did not graduate.

Millard Fillmore founded the University of Buffalo, but he did not graduate from any college. Abraham Lincoln is famous for only having approximately one year of formal schooling. In addition, Andrew Johnson did not have any formal schooling of any kind. Even some of the modern presidents did not graduate from college. For example, Harry S Truman, who served as vice president to Franklin Roosevelt before becoming president himself, went to business college and law school. But, he never graduated from either of these institutions.

Where Did Presidents Go To Graduate School?

At the same time, there are plenty of presidents who not only finished an undergraduate education but also went to graduate school. For example, John F Kennedy went to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, which is located in Stanford, California. Even though he only audited classes there, there is no doubt that he carried that education with him when he served as president.

In addition, George W Bush went to Harvard Business School. He graduated with his MBA. There are plenty of other presidents who went to school at Harvard as well. For example, John Adams and John Quincy Adams both earned master's degrees from Harvard University. Woodrow Wilson went to Johns Hopkins University and earned his PhD. William Henry Harrison also went to medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, but he withdrew after three years.

Which Presidents Went To Law School?

Given that there are many people who serve as president of the United States after studying political science and going to law school, it should come as no surprise that lots of presidents were lawyers. For example, William McKinley went to Albany law school. He did not finish his degree, and he withdrew after a few years. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt went to Columbia Law School.

Even though they did not finish their degrees, they were awarded their law degree posthumously in 2008. Richard Nixon went to Duke University, where he earned his law degree. Lyndon B Johnson went to law school at the Georgetown University Law Center, but he would through before he could finish his degree. 2 presidents went to Harvard Law School. The first was Rutherford B Hayes, who served as president at the end of the nineteenth Century. Barack Obama also went to Harvard Law School, and he served as president of the United States from 2008 to 2016.