U.S. Presidents with College Education: From Learners to Leaders
Earning a college degree is not a requirement to become America’s commander-in-chief, but history tells us that the vast majority U.S. Presidents valued a college education.
Throughout history 34 out of 44 presidents earned at least a college degree – and 32 percent of those earned an advanced degree.
But did education contribute to their leadership ability?
Consider what President John F. Kennedy once said: “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”
We live in a nation where we have the opportunity to gain an advanced education to better our lives. By choosing to invest in your education you have the ability to create positive changes in your life, your career and one day, maybe even your nation.
Below is a list of U.S. presidents and the college education they received, including the schools they attended and the academic degrees they received. These leaders helped shape the future for our nation. Perhaps their academic achievements will inspire you to become a leader in the future.
An Ordered List of our President’s College Education
1. George Washington, 1789 - 1797
College Attended: College of William and Mary
Degree Earned: Surveyor's License
2. John Adams, 1797 - 1801
College Attended: Harvard University
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree
3. Thomas Jefferson, 1801 - 1809
College Attended: College of William and Mary
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
4. James Madison, 1809 - 1817
College Attended: Princeton University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
5. James Monroe, 1817 - 1825
College Attended: College of William and Mary
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
6. John Quincy Adams, 1825 - 1829
College Attended: Harvard University
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree
7. Andrew Jackson, 1829 - 1837
College Attended: None
8. Martin Van Buren, 1837 - 1841
College Attended: None
9. William Henry Harrison, 1841
Colleges Attended: Hampden-Sydney College; University of Pennsylvania
Degree Earned: Did not graduate
10. John Tyler, 1841 - 1845
College Attended: College of William and Mary
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
11. James K. Polk, 1845 - 1849
College Attended: University of North Carolina
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
12. Zachary Taylor, 1849 - 1850
College Attended: None
13. Millard Fillmore, 1850 - 1853
College Attended: None
14. Franklin Pierce, 1853 - 1857
College Attended: Bowdoin College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
15. James Buchanan, 1857 - 1861
College Attended: Dickinson College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
16. Abraham Lincoln, 1861 - 1865
College Attended: None
17. Andrew Johnson, 1865 - 1869
College Attended: None
18. Ulysses S. Grant, 1869 - 1877
College Attended: U.S. Military Academy
Degree Earned: Graduate
19. Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877 - 1881
Colleges Attended: Kenyon College; Harvard Law School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Bachelor of Laws
20. James A. Garfield, 1881
College Attended: Williams College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
21. Chester A. Arthur, 1881 - 1885
Colleges Attended: Union College; State and National Law School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; did not graduate
22. Grover Cleveland, 1885 - 1889
College Attended: None
23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889 - 1893
College Attended: Miami University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
24. Grover Cleveland, 1893 - 1897
See #22, only president to serve two
non-consecutive terms.
25. William McKinley, 1897 - 1901
Colleges Attended: Allegheny College; Albany Law School
Degrees Earned: Did not graduate; Bachelor of Laws
26. Theodore Roosevelt, 1901 - 1909
College Attended: Harvard University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
27. William Howard Taft, 1909 - 1913
Colleges Attended: Yale University; University of Cincinnati College of Law
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Bachelor of Laws
28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913 - 1921
Colleges Attended: Princeton University; Johns Hopkins University
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Doctoral degree
29. Warren G. Harding, 1921 - 1923
College Attended: Ohio Central College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923 - 1929
College Attended: Amherst College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
31. Herbert Hoover, 1929 - 1933
College Attended: Stanford University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933 - 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt
College Attended: Harvard University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
33. Harry S. Truman, 1945 - 1953
Colleges Attended: Spalding’s Commercial College; University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Degree Earned: Did not graduate
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 - 1961
College Attended: U.S. Military Academy
Degree Earned: Graduate
35. John F. Kennedy, 1961 - 1963
College Attended: Harvard University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
36. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963 - 1969
College Attended: Texas State University-San Marcos
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
37. Richard Nixon, 1969 - 1974
Colleges Attended: Whittier College; Duke University School of Law
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Bachelor of Laws
38. Gerald Ford, 1974 - 1977
Colleges Attended: University of Michigan; Yale Law School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Bachelor of Laws
39. Jimmy Carter, 1977 - 1981
College Attended: U. S. Naval Academy
Degree Earned: Graduate
40. Ronald Reagan, 1981 - 1989
College Attended: Eureka College
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
41. George H. W. Bush, 1989 - 1993
College Attended: Yale University
Degree Earned: Bachelor’s degree
42. Bill Clinton, 1993 - 2001
Colleges Attended: Georgetown University; Yale Law School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Juris Doctor
43. George W. Bush, 2001 - 2009
Colleges Attended: Yale University; Harvard Business School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree
44. Barack Obama, 2009 - Present
Colleges Attended: Columbia University; Harvard Law School
Degrees Earned: Bachelor’s degree; Juris Doctor
