Donald Trumps college education
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Executive summary
Donald Trump attended Fordham University for two years before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in economics [1] [2]. Contemporary reporting and institutional summaries also note Trump has invoked his Wharton credential repeatedly while his administration in 2025 pursued sweeping changes to higher education policy, including executive orders on accreditation and admissions transparency [3] [4].
1. Where he studied: the record
Donald Trump began his undergraduate studies at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx and transferred in his sophomore year to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in May 1968 with a B.S. in economics [1] [2]. Multiple university and education profiles reiterate that sequence: Fordham first, Wharton degree completed [5] [1].
2. What his degree was and how he uses it
The credential is listed as a Bachelor of Science in economics from Wharton, an asset Trump has publicly cited in books and campaigns as evidence of business training—even as he wrote in The Art of the Deal that Wharton taught him not to overvalue academic credentials [2] [1]. Available sources do not mention specifics such as his GPA or course grades; one source notes those records were not publicly released [2].
3. Why this matters now: Trump’s higher-education agenda in 2025
Trump’s 2025 presidency has made higher education a central policy front: his administration has issued executive orders to change accreditation, expand admissions reporting, and rescind prior federal education policies—moves framed by the White House as restoring “merit” and combating “ideological overreach” [3] [4]. Those same actions have been described by higher-education associations as efforts that effectively dismantle Department of Education oversight and roll back student protections [6] [7].
4. Competing portrayals of his record and role
Pro-administration materials cast Trump’s Wharton degree as part of a credentials-based defense of policy reform and accountability initiatives in higher education [4] [3]. By contrast, academic and advocacy groups warn that the administration’s moves—dismantling federal oversight, redefining accreditation, and curbing DEI—threaten equity and institutional stability [6] [7]. The Chronicle’s tracking of higher-education policy highlights actions like targeting DEI programs and sanctions related to campus antisemitism as central priorities [8].
5. How journalists and institutions report the background
University outlets and education reporters emphasize the basic chronology of Trump’s education—NY military academy, Fordham, then Wharton—while noting how Trump’s educational brand has fed political narrative and policy debates [5] [1]. The Guardian and other outlets link Trump’s policy moves to conservative policy blueprints such as Project 2025, showing alignment between his education-focused executive actions and broader conservative plans for higher education reform [9].
6. What’s not covered in the provided reporting
Available sources do not mention in detail any coursework, honors, or transcripts beyond the Wharton B.S. in economics and do not offer contemporaneous academic evaluations [2]. They also do not provide primary-document scans of his diploma or internal university memos confirming transfer paperwork—those specifics are “not found in current reporting” among the supplied sources [2].
7. The implicit stakes and agendas
Trump’s personal alma mater, Wharton, is used rhetorically to bolster claims of expertise as his administration advances executive actions reshaping higher education funding, accreditation, and campus governance; the White House fact sheets present these changes as consumer-protection and transparency goals [4] [3]. Higher-education groups frame the same actions as politically driven efforts to weaken federal oversight and alter the missions of colleges—an ideological struggle reflected in reporting from ACE and The Chronicle [6] [8].
8. Bottom line for readers
Fact: Trump’s formal college path is Fordham then Wharton, B.S. in economics, class of 1968 [1] [2]. Context: that credential remains central to how he presents himself while his administration pursues aggressive reforms of higher education that produce sharply divided interpretations: administration fact sheets emphasize accountability and transparency [4] [3], while academic associations warn of dismantling oversight and rolling back protections [6] [7].