Megan McArthur was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Don and Kit McArthur. Her father was a career naval aviator, and the McArthur family later relocated to the Moffett Field Naval Air Station, which shares the same base as NASA’s Ames Research Center. This is where her inspiration of become an astronaut grew. McArthur attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California, San Diego where she performed research activities at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 