Diarmaid MacCulloch was born in Kent, England, to parents Nigel J. H. MacCulloch (an Anglican priest) and Jennie MacCulloch ("née" Chappell). He attended Hillcroft Preparatory School, Haughley and Stowmarket Grammar School in Suffolk. He subsequently studied history at Churchill College, Cambridge, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972; this was promoted to a Master of Arts degree in 1976. During that period, he was also organ scholar at the college. After completing a Diploma in Archive Administration at Liverpool University in 1973, he then returned to Cambridge to complete a PhD degree in 1977 on Tudor history under the supervision of Geoffrey Elton, combining this with a position as Junior Research Fellow at Churchill College.