Dexter Holland & 12 Other Rock Stars with College Degrees

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

December 29th, 2019 7:00 AM

Plenty of rock stars have honorary college degrees, but how many actually earned their degrees? More than you think and in some surprising fields!

One of those rock stars is Offspring frontman Dexter Holland, who celebrates a birthday today (December 29) and is among the few doctorate recipients in the gallery below. Scroll through to see who else pursued higher education!

• Dexter Holland

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  The Offspring frontman earned a Ph.D in molecular biology from the University of Southern California in 2017. His thesis was titled 'Discovery of Mature MicroRNA Sequences within the Protein-Coding Regions of Global HIV-1 Genomes: Predictions of Novel Mechanisms for Viral Infection and Pathogenicity.'

• Queen

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  Each member of Queen has their own college degree. Brian May earned his PhD in astrophysics in 2007. Freddie Mercury had a degree in graphic art and design. John Deacon has a degree in Electronics, and Roger Taylor has a bachelor's degree in biology.

• Rivers Cuomo

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  Cuomo took a little over two decades between the various album and tour cycles with Weezer to earn his English degree from Harvard, but he finally did it in 2006.
• Tom Morello

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  Tom Morello graduated from Harvard University in 1986 with a Bachelor's Degree in social studies.

• Greg Graffin

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  The Bad Religion frontman has an impressive academic record. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCLA. From there, he earned a PhD in science from Cornell University. Graffin has even returned to UCLA and Cornell to teach select science courses.

• James Williamson

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  Williamson carved out an incredible post-Stooges career. He received a degree in electrical engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1982 and would go on to become a VP at Sony and help develop the technology behind the Blu-ray Disc.
• Jim Morrison

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  Before helping form The Doors, Jim Morrison would graduate from UCLA in 1965 with a Bachelor's degree from the university's film school.

• Jeff Schroeder

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  The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist has a bachelor's and Masters degree and is currently working on his Ph.D in Comparative Literature at UCLA.

• Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison

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  Sterling Morrison earned a PhD in medieval literature in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin. Lou Reed, meanwhile, earned a Bachelor's degree from Syracuse University in English in 1964.

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Category:

• Music

Tags:

Dexter Holland,Jim Morrison,Lou Reed,Queen,Rivers Cuomo,Smashing Pumpkins,Tom Morello