Between 1983 and 1989, he attended the Stedelijk Gymnasium (Municipal Gymnasium) in Leeuwarden. There he became interested in physics, and later he went on to study applied physics at Delft University of Technology. Samsom specialised in nuclear physics and became a level three radiation protection expert. He graduated in May 1997, obtaining a Dutch engineer's degree (). He was also on the board of the national students' union LSVb and edited a yearly edition of the "Poenboek", a students' guide relating to monetary issues.