Which degrees did Australia’s politicians study at uni?
While there’s no academic prerequisite to becoming a politician, arts and law degrees are common amongst Aussie MPs. Interestingly, politics is not.
Yahoo Finance has looked at the university degrees studied by Australia’s famous premiers and prime ministers, past and present, and the results are surprising.
Let’s take a look.
Scott Morrison
Scott Morrison took over from Malcolm Turnbull in the top job in 2018 as the current Prime Minister of Australia.
After attending Sydney Boys High School, Morrison went on to complete a Bachelor of Science (honours) in applied economic geography at the University of New South Wales.
He wanted to go on and study theology at Regent Cology in Canada, but his father disapproved. Instead, he entered the workforce.
Josh Frydenberg
This one might give 2020 HSC students some inspiration as they head into their exam period.
The Australian Treasurer is arguably one of Australia’s most educated politicians, having five accreditations under his belt.
After 12 months of playing professional tennis, Frydenberg completed a law and economics degree (with honours) at Monash University.
He then went on to complete a Master of philosophy and a degree in international relations at Oxford University. After that, he completed a Masters of Public Administration at Harvard University.
Dan Tehan
Education Minister Dan Tehan is leading the Government’s charge on hiking university fees – changes which could see the cost of humanities degrees more than doubled.
Interestingly, Tehan himself completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, before going on to complete a Master of Foreign Affairs and Trade at Monash University and a Master of International Relations at the University of Kent in England.
Jacqui Lambie
Senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie has spoken out against the Government’s uni fee hikes, saying it would make it harder for poor Australians to get their dream jobs.
"This bill makes university life harder for poor kids and poor parents. And not only does it not have the same impact on wealthy families, it even gives them sweetheart little discounts,” she said in a statement.
And there’s clear reason: Lambie was raised in public housing estate, and dropped out of school in Year 11.
Later, she joined the Australian Army, where she served for over 10 years.
Gladys Berejiklian
NSW Premier Berejiklian may not be the wisest when it comes to love, but she’s still a smart cookie.
The Premier completed a Bachelor of Arts and a graduate diploma in international studies from the University of Sydney.
She later went on to complete a Masters in Commerce from the University of New South Wales.
Daniel Andrews
It seems a Bachelor of Arts is fairly common amongst our state leaders, with the Victorian Premier graduating from a B.A in 1996, majoring in politics and classics.
Annastasia Palaszcuk
The Queensland Premier and former policy adviser has four degree-level accreditations under her belt.
She first completed degrees in arts and laws from the University of Queensland, and then moved to London to complete a Masters of Arts. She later completed a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the Australian National University.
Mark McGowan
The arts and law combination was clearly popular back in the day. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan also completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Queensland.
Stephen Marshall
SA Premier Stephen Marshall is one of the few premiers with a business degree under his belt.
He studied business at the SA Institute of Technology, now the University of South Australia, before completing a MBA at Durham University in the UK.
Clive Palmer
The media may not be a fan of Aussie businessman and politician Clive Palmer, but Palmer’s a fan of the media.
The billionaire studied journalism, along with law and politics at the University of Queensland, but never actually finished the course.
He later completed a Diploma of Law through the Queensland Bar Board.
Pauline Hanson
One Nation founder and leader Pauline Hanson didn’t actually attend university. In fact, she worked in her parents’ fish and chip shop in Queensland before landing a job at Woolies, and then heading into office administration.
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