The Last U.S. President Without a College Degree

Since President Harry S. Truman, all those who have served as commander in chief had obtained a college degree before entering political life.

The United States has not had a head of state who did not attend college since President Truman served two terms from 1945 to 1953. Truman, the oldest child of a Missouri family, was raised by a livestock dealer and farmer. After graduating from Independence High School in 1901, he briefly attended Spalding’s Commercial College, a business school in Kansas City, for one year before dropping out.

World War I broke out when Truman was thirty-three. He joined the Army after having enlisted in the Missouri National Guard more than a decade earlier, in 1905. After the war, Truman used his military and local Missouri connections to launch his political career. Before being named Vice President for Franklin Delore Roosevelt, Truman represented his home state in the Senate from 1935 to 1945.

Where have the last five US Presidents gone to college?

President Joe Biden is the first president in decades who did not attend an Ivy League school for college and instead earned his degree from the University of Delaware, where he majored in history and political science.

Both Donald Trump and Barack Obama were transfer students during their undergraduate studies. Trump transferred to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania after two years at Fordham University, while Obama began at Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University. Obama later attended Harvard Law School, where he was part of the Harvard Law Review.

George W. Bush obtained his bachelor’s degree in art history from Yale University and later pursued an MBA from Harvard Business School.

After completing his studies at Georgetown University, Bill Clinton pursued his JD at Yale Law School.