J.K. Rowling studied at the University of Exeter in Exeter, England.
She attended Exeter from 1983 and graduated in 1987 with a degree in French and Classics. Her course included a year in Paris, reflecting the language component of her studies. Exeter is in Devon, in southwest England, and the university’s campus and city are distinct from the more famous universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Rowling later worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary before becoming a full-time author. Her French studies also connect to a detail in the Harry Potter series: the French wizarding school Beauxbatons appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
A frequent error is placing Rowling’s university years at Oxford or Cambridge, because those institutions are strongly associated with British literary history. Rowling did not attend either; her undergraduate education took place at Exeter.