Knorr-Cetina studied at the University of Vienna, receiving a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology (with a minor in sociology) in 1971. Her dissertation research focused on the structural analysis of oral literature. She shifted her focus toward sociology as she found that cultural anthropology at the time was too focused on historical concerns, while she was more interested in contemporary social phenomena. Following the completion of her doctorate, Knorr-Cetina went to the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, where many influential sociologists were invited to give presentations. This resulted in a Post-doctoral diploma in sociology, and an appointment as an instructor in anthropology at the University of Vienna from 1972–73, and then in sociology from 1973-76. During this time, Knorr-Cetina engaged in her first empirical investigations of science leading the 1975 publication (with Hermann Strasser and Hans Georg Zilian) "Determinants and Controls of Scientific Development". It was also during these years that she first encountered the work of the ethnomethodologically-inclined sociologist Aaron Cicourel, specifically "Method and measurement in sociology."