Jemison graduated from high school at the age of 16. She studied at Stanford University on a scholarship. There she earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering in 1977. During her education, Jemison involved herself in activities outside her classes. These included dance, theater, and volunteer work. She was also the head of the Black Student Union. While at Cornell, Jemison helped people who had left their country because it was not safe to live there. She helped run health studies in Kenya as well. She studied how complicated organisms can be influenced by gravity. In 1981 she earned a Doctorate of Medicine.