Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and many young people see her as a role model. She started working on her music as a teen and never got a chance to have a traditional college experience, but her academic journey includes everything from homeschooling to an honorary doctorate.
Higher education wasn’t in the cards for Swift, and even her high school experience has been pretty tricky. She attended Hendersonville High School during her teenage years before transferring to Aaron Academy and turning to homeschooling due to her busy touring schedule. She eventually graduated one year early and decided to pursue music full-time.
Despite never attending college, Swift received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 2022 and addressed her academic journey in her commemorative speech.
“I never got to have a normal college experience, per se. I went to public high school until 10th grade and then finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals,” said Swift, adding that the music video for “Love Song” was the closest she came to realizing her college dream.
Despite not being an academic herself, Taylor Swift’s body of work is studied at several colleges. Arizona State University introduced a course “Psychology of Taylor Swift”, while the University of Texas, New York University, and Berklee College of Music in Boston offered courses studying her music.
