Doig graduated salutatorian in a class of 21 students from Valier High School in Valier, Montana. of 1957 per choteauacantha.com e-edition 7-19-2017 page 3 He won a full-tuition scholarship to Northwestern University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1961 and a master's degree in journalism in 1962. His master's thesis was on the subject of televised congressional hearings on organized crime. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation on John J. McGilvra (1827-1903).