Fact Check: No, former first lady Michelle Obama has not earned her Ph.D. in law

Devon Link, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
First lady Michelle Obama encourages the graduating seniors to draw upon the strength of the state's civil rights movement when confronting racism or criticism as part of her commencement address at graduation ceremonies for Jackson State University's Class of 2016, at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss., Saturday.
First lady Michelle Obama encourages the graduating seniors to draw upon the strength of the state's civil rights movement when confronting racism or criticism as part of her commencement address at graduation ceremonies for Jackson State University's Class of 2016, at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss., Saturday.

Claim: Former first lady Michelle Obama earned her Ph.D. in law since leaving the White House in 2016

Several Facebook posts congratulating former first lady Michelle Obama on a doctorate degree that she has not received have gone viral online.

“CONGRATULATIONS to Doctor Michelle Obama!!! Since her husband has been out of office, and her children out of the house, Mrs. Obama decided to complete her PHD in law. The most educated 1st lady ever, is a Black Queen! RESPECT,” Lady Gee posted on Facebook on June 27.

Her post quickly received hundreds of shares and dozens of comments congratulating Obama. One Facebook user questioned the validity of Gee’s claim.

“This isn’t true. She actually got an honorary doctorate from Jackson State University after delivering their commencement speech. But she’s still the most intelligent First Lady ever!” commented Lori Ehawee Gloster.

Other Facebook users posted similar versions of the misinformed claim.

“Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Since her husband has been out of office, and her children out of the house, Mrs. Obama decided to complete her PHD in law. The most educated 1st lady in the history of this nation. Congratulations Dr. Michelle Obama!!!” Christopher D. Handy posted to The Barack H. Obama Fan Club Facebook group on June 22.

Gee has not yet responded to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Obama’s office has confirmed with the Associated Press and Lead Stories that this is not true.

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Obama holds a juris doctor-not a Ph.D.

Growing up Obama attended Chicago Public Schools. She later earned two undergraduate degrees, in sociology and African-American studies, at Princeton University.

Obama has famously shared how a high school counselor’s comment that she was not “Princeton material” caused her to self-doubt and ultimately motivated her to pursue further education. After graduating from Princeton in 1985, she attended Harvard Law School and earned her juris doctor degree in 1988.

CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 2: Candidate for the U.S. Senate Barack Obama (D-IL) sits with his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha (L) and Malia (R) in a hotel room as they wait for election returns to come in November 2, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. Obama is expected to win easily against the Republican candidate Alan Keyes. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 2: Candidate for the U.S. Senate Barack Obama (D-IL) sits with his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha (L) and Malia (R) in a hotel room as they wait for election returns to come in November 2, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. Obama is expected to win easily against the Republican candidate Alan Keyes. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

She then joined the Sidley & Austin law firm in Chicago, where she met her husband, Barack Obama. Several years later Obama left law to pursue community-based interests.

After her husband was elected president, Obama received multiple honorary degrees from universities where she gave commencement speeches, several of which were honorary doctorates: Oregon State University in 2012, Bowie State University in 2013 and Jackson State University in 2016.

Bowie State, in Maryland, gave Obama an honorary doctorate of law, but she has not completed that degree.

Busy since leaving the White House

In 2018, Obama wrote a memoir, “Becoming,” which has lasted 81 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

“Becoming” earned the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. In 2020, “Becoming” was released as a Netflix documentary, which followed Obama on her 34-city book tour.

But her time post-White House has not included earning an additional degree.

President Barack Obama, center, and first lady Michelle Obama, second from right, walk with their daughters, Sasha, left, and Malia on the tarmac to board Air Force One at the Cape Cod Coast Guard Station, in Bourne, Mass., on Aug. 21, 2016. President Obama and the first family are returning to Washington D.C. following their vacation on the island of Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts.

Our rating: False

We rate the claim that Michelle Obama has earned a doctorate in law FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Obama’s office has confirmed several times that she has not earned any new degrees since leaving the White House in 2016.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact Check: Michelle Obama has not earned Ph.D. in law