Everything We Know About Today Anchor Savannah Guthrie's Education

Savannah Guthrie has been a key part of the "Today" show since 2011, but her passion for reporting goes back much further. In the early 1990s, Savannah was a journalism major at the University of Arizona. Tragically, Savannah's father, Charles Guthrie, died when she was in high school. Her mom, Nancy Guthrie, began working at the university, which had the added benefit of free tuition for her family. While her choice of school was easy, somewhat surprisingly, Savannah had difficulty choosing a major. Happily, Nancy and Savannah have a close bond, and she gave her daughter some wise career advice. 

"I'll never forget what she said: 'At least in journalism they'll teach you a skill,'" the anchor recalled in 2018 when she was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame (via YouTube). Once Savannah began taking journalism classes, her experienced professors cemented her decision. They encouraged her while simultaneously stretching her to build her skillset. Savannah also got her feet wet conducting on-location interviews before she graduated with honors in 1993. 

Compared to Savannah's high school work track record, these stellar grades were a huge improvement. "I was a high school slacker," she sheepishly admitted on a September 2025 episode of "Today" (via People). In fact, during her sophomore year, most of Savannah's grades were Cs, and her lowest was a D in Spanish. Notably, her highest grade was Public Speaking (B-). Savannah's attendance was also poor, which may account for the low grades, since her time away from class likely impacted the future journalist's ability to stay up-to-date on lectures and assignments.

Savannah Guthrie's journalism career got off to a rough start. First, she made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her close-knit family in Arizona and relocate to Montana for her first professional gig. Unfortunately, she didn't even have time to settle in and get some experience before the position ended. After bouncing around a couple of different TV stations, Savannah decided to go back to school in 1999. While she continued to work as a journalist part time, a little known fact about Savannah Guthrie is that she was planning to pivot and work in the legal field. The "Today" show co-host earned even higher honors as a graduate student Georgetown University, and she aced her bar exam.

After a brief stint as a Washington D.C. lawyer, Savannah's next move was to work for a federal judge. However, she figured out that she really wanted to return to journalism instead. "I just realized if I don't do this now, I'm never going to have the guts again," Savannah recalled on "Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky." "I quit the clerkship before I ever went in, which was very scandalous and controversial."

Happily this big gamble paid off, and her legal knowledge proved to be a major asset as she returned to journalism. After a stint at Court TV, Savannah moved on to various roles at NBC, including co-anchoring their long-running "Today" show. Beyond career satisfaction, the close bonds Savannah has built at "Today" have been an important source of support and comfort during the search for her mom Nancy Guthrie.