What degrees did Zohran Mamdani earn and in what fields of study?
Executive summary
Zohran Kwame Mamdani holds a single, publicly documented undergraduate degree: a Bachelor’s in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College, earned in 2014, as reported consistently across major profiles and news outlets [1] [2] [3]. Available reporting does not substantiate any additional college or graduate degrees such as a law degree; when alternative accounts mention other credentials they are either unsourced or contradicted by mainstream biographies [4] [5].
1. Bowdoin College and the Africana Studies degree — the consensus view
Multiple reputable profiles and encyclopedic entries identify Bowdoin College as Mamdani’s undergraduate institution and list his major as Africana or African Studies, with graduation around 2014; this formulation appears in TuitionHero (a compiled biography), Britannica’s profile, conference biographies and BBC coverage [1] [2] [6] [3]. These outlets present the Africana Studies degree as the throughline of his academic formation and a foundation for his subsequent organizing and political work [1] [2].
2. How major outlets describe his education and why it matters
Encyclopaedia Britannica and the BBC both frame Mamdani’s Bowdoin Africana Studies degree as central to his political identity and activism, noting campus organizing and intellectual influences tied to that field [2] [3]. Profiles in outlets such as TuitionHero and conference materials similarly emphasize Africana Studies rather than technical, business, or legal training — a detail reporters and analysts use to contextualize his policy priorities and rhetorical frame [1] [6].
3. Conflicting or uncorroborated claims — where reporting diverges
Some secondary or less authoritative pieces sketch a broader résumé — for example a press.farm summary that asserts an atypical trajectory including a “law degree,” and lifestyle or commentary sites that embellish the shape of his schooling [4] [5]. Those claims are not corroborated by Britannica, the BBC, Bowdoin-linked bios, or the more detailed candidate profiles; therefore the strongest available evidence supports only the Bowdoin bachelor’s in Africana Studies [2] [3] [1].
4. What reporting does not show — limits of the public record
No source in the provided reporting documents a graduate degree (JD, master’s, or PhD) for Mamdani or lists additional college degrees beyond his Bowdoin bachelor’s; that absence is notable given the level of biographical scrutiny during his campaigns and mayoral coverage [1] [2] [3]. Because the record in these sources is silent on further academic credentials, it is not possible from these materials to affirm the existence of any other completed degrees without citing new documentation.
5. Alternative interpretations and possible agendas in coverage
Profiles emphasizing his Africana Studies major often do so to situate Mamdani within a progressive, activist intellectual lineage and to contrast him with technocratic or legally trained politicians, an implicit narrative used by outlets like The Spectator and Times of India to explain his political posture [7] [8]. Conversely, pieces that inflate or invent additional credentials (for prestige or critique) appear on less rigorously sourced pages; those accounts serve different agenda: either to elevate his gravitas or to cast doubt on his experience [4] [5].
6. Bottom line — the documented academic credential
The reliable, repeatedly cited fact across Britannica, BBC, Bowdoin-linked materials and compiled biographies is that Zohran Mamdani earned a Bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College (circa 2014); claims of other degrees are either absent from major profiles or appear only in less-verified outlets and therefore remain unproven in the provided reporting [1] [2] [6] [3] [4].