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.

List by university attended

Did not graduate from college

Undergraduate

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 B.Phil 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 U.S. 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 20 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

Graduate school

Medical school

Law school

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)

M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration)

M.A. (Master of Arts)

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. 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

Other academic associations

Faculty member

School rector or president

School trustee or governor