Adrienne Clarkson graduated from Lisgar Collegiate Institute in 1956, afterwards enrolling at the University of Toronto's Trinity College. During her time there, Clarkson won a Governor General's Medal in English before graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in the subject, and then travelling with her parents to East and Southeast Asia. Clarkson went on to obtain her master's degree in English literature, also at the University of Toronto.[