Does more education really make people less prejudiced?
Yes, but the link is more nuanced than 'college makes you tolerant.' Multiple studies confirm that higher educational attainment is associated with lower ethnic prejudice. A 2024 longitudinal study in Chile tracked over 2,000 adults for six years and found that each additional level of education (e.g., from high school to some college) reduced perceived cultural threat from immigrants by about 0.2 standard deviations—a modest but meaningful effect [3]. Similarly, a 2018 study of 499 teachers in Belgium found that those with a university degree scored significantly lower on a prejudice scale compared to teachers with only vocational training [5]. The pattern holds across different countries and measures.
However, the effect is not automatic. The same Chilean study found that education's impact on economic threat (e.g., 'immigrants take jobs') was weaker than on cultural threat, suggesting that education mainly reduces prejudice by changing how people think about cultural differences, not by eliminating economic anxieties [3]. This means a degree alone doesn't guarantee tolerance—it depends on what and how you learn.
What is it about higher education that reduces prejudice?
The key mechanism appears to be 'proactive encounters' with diverse peers, not just sitting in a lecture hall. A 2026 study of UK university students found that the most powerful predictor of positive attitudes toward Muslims was not the number of diversity courses taken, but the quality of informal interactions with students from different backgrounds—especially when those interactions were initiated by the student themselves (e.g., joining a multicultural society) rather than forced by a class assignment [2]. This aligns with the 'contact hypothesis': meaningful, equal-status contact reduces prejudice.
But there's a catch: the environment matters. The 2018 Belgian teacher study found that teachers in schools with more ethnic minority pupils were less prejudiced only if they also perceived those pupils as 'teachable' (i.e., motivated and capable) [5]. If teachers viewed minority students negatively, more diversity actually increased prejudice. This suggests that education reduces prejudice only when it fosters positive, respectful interactions—not just exposure.
Where does higher education fall short?
Higher education doesn't automatically erase prejudice, and it can even reinforce it if not done thoughtfully. A 2021 study found that a widely used cultural competence assessment tool (the Intercultural Development Inventory) failed to capture the real experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other students of color (BIPOC) in U.S. universities [4]. The tool labeled some BIPOC students as 'less culturally competent' when they were actually expressing valid critiques of systemic racism. This means that standard diversity training can miss the mark—or even alienate the very students it aims to support.
Additionally, the 2023 HPV awareness study (though not about prejudice directly) shows that education doesn't erase racial disparities: even among college graduates, Asian Americans had significantly lower health awareness than White graduates [1]. This suggests that education alone cannot overcome deep-seated structural inequalities or cultural barriers. For education to reduce ethnic prejudice, it must explicitly teach about power, privilege, and systemic bias—not just celebrate diversity.
Sources used in this answer
Human Papillomavirus Awareness by Educational Level and by Race and Ethnicity
HPV awareness ranged from 40.4% for those with less than high school to 78.2% for college graduates, but even among graduates, Asian individuals had the lowest awareness (46.9%), showing education alone doesn't erase racial gaps.
How Does Higher Education Influence Attitudes Towards Muslims? Examining Mechanisms That Reduce Prejudice Within UK Universities.
UK university students' positive attitudes toward Muslims were most strongly shaped by proactive, informal encounters with diverse peers, not by formal coursework.
Does educational attainment matter for attitudes toward immigrants in Chile? Assessing the causality and generalizability of higher education's so‐called “liberalizing effect” on economic and cultural threat
In Chile, each additional level of education reduced perceived cultural threat from immigrants by about 0.2 standard deviations, but the effect on economic threat was weaker.
Rethinking Race, Ethnicity, and the Assessment of Intercultural Competence in Higher Education
A standard cultural competence assessment tool (IDI) failed to capture the real experiences of BIPOC students, suggesting that higher education must teach structural competence, not just cultural awareness.
The ethnic prejudice of Flemish teachers: The role of ethnic school composition and of teachability.
Flemish teachers with a university degree were less prejudiced than those with lower education, but only when they perceived ethnic minority pupils as 'teachable'—more diversity alone did not reduce prejudice.