Solomon received an Associate of Sydney Technical College, (equivalent to a Diploma of Chemistry) in 1950 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Science (BSc (Hons)) in 1952 from the New South Wales University of Technology (now the University of New South Wales), a Master of Science (MSc) from the same university in 1955, and a PhD from the University of New South Wales in 1959 with a thesis entitled Studies on the Chemistry of Carbonyl Compounds. In 1968 he was awarded a DSc from the University of New South Wales for his thesis Studies on the Chemistry of Coating Compounds. He also received an Honorary Doctorate in Applied Science from the University of Melbourne in 2005, one of only seven awarded in the university's history.