Below is a list of governors of California by education. Most California governors received a college education, especially since 1895. Of the nineteenth century governors, half attended college. College degrees have set governors apart from the general population, and governors of California have often held such a degree even when this was extremely rare and, indeed, unnecessary for practicing most occupations, including law. Every California governor since 1923 has had a degree, with the most degrees being attained from UC Berkeley.

List of governors of California by education

Governor Schools Degrees
Peter Burnett None None
John McDougall None None
John Bigler Dickinson College Dropped out
J. Neely Johnson None None
John B. Weller Miami University
Milton Latham Washington & Jefferson College 1845
John G. Downey None None
Leland Stanford Cazenovia College LL.B. 1845
Frederick Low None None
H.H. Haight Yale University A.B. 1844
Newton Booth De Pauw University A.B. 1846
Romualdo Pacheco None None
William Irwin Marietta College 1848
George Perkins None None
George Stoneman United States Military Academy 1846
Washington Bartlett None None
Robert Waterman None None
Henry Markham None None
James Budd University of California, Berkeley A.B. 1873
Henry Gage None None
George Pardee University of California, Berkeley Ph.B. 1879
A.M. 1882
University of Leipzig M.D. 1885
James Gillett None None
Hiram Johnson University of California, Berkeley Dropped out 1887
William Stephens None None
Friend Richardson San Bernardino College
C. C. Young University of California, Berkeley B.L. 1892
James Rolph None None
Frank Merriam Lenox College B.S. 1887
Culbert Olson Brigham Young University B.A. in Law and Journalism, 1890
University of Michigan Law School Transferred to GWU Law
George Washington University Law School LL.B. 1901
Earl Warren University of California, Berkeley B.A. 1912
University of California, Berkeley School of Law LL.B. 1914
Goodwin Knight Stanford University A.B. in Law and Business, 1919
Cornell University Graduate work, 1920
Pat Brown San Francisco Law School LL.B. 1927
Ronald Reagan Eureka College B.A. in Economics, 1932
Jerry Brown University of California, Berkeley B.A. in Classics, 1961
Yale Law School J.D. 1964
George Deukmejian Siena College B.A. in Sociology, 1949
St. John's University School of Law J.D. 1952
Pete Wilson Yale University B.A. in English, 1956
University of California, Berkeley School of Law J.D. 1962
Gray Davis Stanford University A.B. in History, 1964
Columbia Law School J.D. 1967
Arnold Schwarzenegger University of Wisconsin–Superior B.A. in Business and International Economics, 1979
Jerry Brown University of California, Berkeley B.A. in Classics, 1961
Yale Law School J.D. 1964
Gavin Newsom Santa Clara University B.A. in Political Science, 1989

List by institutions

School Governor(s) Degree(s)
University of California, Berkeley &
UC Berkeley Law School		 James Budd A.B. 1873
George Pardee Ph.B. 1879
A.M. 1882
Hiram Johnson Dropped out 1887
C. C. Young B.L. 1892
Earl Warren B.A. 1912
LL.B. 1914
Jerry Brown B.A. in Classics, 1961
Pete Wilson J.D. 1962
Yale University &
Yale Law School		 H.H. Haight A.B. 1844
Jerry Brown J.D. 1964
Pete Wilson B.A. in English, 1956
Stanford University Goodwin Knight A.B. in Law and Business, 1919
Gray Davis A.B. in History, 1964
Brigham Young University Culbert Olson B.A. in Law and Journalism, 1890
Cazenovia College Leland Stanford LL.B. 1845
Columbia Law School Gray Davis J.D. 1967
Cornell University Goodwin Knight Graduate work, 1920
De Pauw University Newton Booth A.B. 1846
Dickinson College John Bigler Dropped out
Eureka College Ronald Reagan B.A. in Economics, 1932
George Washington University Law School Culbert Olson LL.B. 1901
University of Leipzig George Pardee M.D. 1885
Lenox College Frank Merriam B.S. 1887
Marietta College William Irwin 1848
Miami University John B. Weller
University of Michigan Law School Culbert Olson Transferred to GWU Law
St. John's University School of Law George Deukmejian J.D. 1952
San Bernardino College Friend Richardson
San Francisco Law School Pat Brown LL.B. 1927
Santa Clara University Gavin Newsom B.A. 1989
Siena College George Deukmejian B.A. in Sociology, 1949
United States Military Academy George Stoneman 1846
Washington & Jefferson College Milton Latham 1845
University of Wisconsin–Superior Arnold Schwarzenegger B.A. in Business and International Economics, 1979
None Peter Burnett None
John McDougall None
J. Neely Johnson None
John G. Downey None
Frederick Low None
Romualdo Pacheco None
George Perkins None
Washington Bartlett None
Robert Waterman None
Henry Markham None
Henry Gage None
James Gillett None
William Stephens None
James Rolph None

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