Which university did J.K. Rowling attend before becoming the author of the Harry Potter series?

J.K. Rowling attended the University of Exeter before becoming the author of the Harry Potter series.

Rowling studied French and Classics at Exeter, graduating in 1987. Her degree included a year in Paris, where she worked as an assistant English teacher as part of her course. The languages and classical subjects she studied later provided useful background for the invented names, spells, and terminology in her fiction.

After university, Rowling worked in several jobs, including roles connected with research and bilingual administration. She began developing the idea for Harry Potter during the early 1990s, before the first novel was published in 1997.

The university is often confused with the University of Edinburgh, where Rowling later lived and wrote parts of the series. Exeter is the institution she attended as an undergraduate; Edinburgh is strongly associated with her writing years and public life.