What is Kamala Harris's IQ? No verified score exists. The viral 78 claim is unfounded. See her documented Howard and UC Hastings record and real facts.
Dr. Russell T. WarneChief Scientist
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Kamala Harris's IQ is unknown. The former vice president has never released the results of an IQ test, no record of a professionally administered test exists in public, and the number most often attached to her name online, a supposed score of 78 from her college years, has been investigated by the fact-checking site Snopes and rated Unfounded. Her documented record consists of degrees, a bar admission, and three decades of demanding legal and political offices, none of which comes with an IQ attached. This article traces the viral rumor to its source, walks through what her record actually shows, and explains why no honest numeric estimate is possible.
The "78 IQ at Howard" rumor, debunked
On September 23, 2024, an anonymous user posted on the r/america subreddit claiming to reveal that Harris had scored 78 on an IQ test at Howard University. The poster later deleted the post. The same day, a screenshot of it was shared on X, where it was viewed nearly 2 million times. Snopes investigated and rated the claim Unfounded, meaning no demonstrable evidence supports it: no test record, no named instrument, no documentation of any kind.
An anonymous post, a screenshot, and a deletion make up the entire evidentiary chain. A genuine IQ score names a specific test, a date, and a qualified examiner, and it would sit in a private educational or clinical record rather than surface in a forum post. Nothing about the rumor resembles how a real score would come to light.
What her documented record shows
Howard, UC Hastings, and the bar exam
Harris earned a B.A. in political science and economics from Howard University in 1986, where she joined the debate team and was elected to the student council, and a J.D. in 1989 from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, now called the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
She failed the California bar exam on her first attempt in 1989 and passed on her second, gaining admission to the California bar in June 1990. Snopes rates that underlying fact True and adds context: the California bar has a reputation as notoriously difficult. In July 1989 the pass rate among first-time takers was 72.2 percent, and in February 1990, the likely date of her second attempt, the overall pass rate was 45.9 percent. A bar exam is a licensing hurdle that measures legal knowledge and preparation. It is not an IQ test, and a first-attempt failure reveals little about general cognitive ability.
From prosecutor to vice president
Her career after law school is a matter of public record. In 1990 she joined the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. She became District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004, was elected Attorney General of California in 2010 (overseeing the largest state justice department in the country), and went on to serve as a U.S. Senator and then as Vice President. A record like that documents sustained work in cognitively demanding roles. It does not convert into a number.
Why no one can compute her IQ
The only peer-reviewed study that estimated IQs for American political figures, Dean Keith Simonton's 2006 historiometric analysis, covers the 42 presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush. Vice presidents, senators, and state attorneys general have never been estimated in any peer-reviewed study, so no scholarly figure exists for Harris.
A score-based estimate is impossible too. Standardized admissions tests correlate strongly with general cognitive ability, but Harris's SAT and LSAT results have never been made public. Degrees and elected offices support a broad inference of at or above average ability and nothing more precise. Political characterizations of her intelligence, admiring or hostile, are rhetoric rather than evidence. The same is true for Barack Obama's IQ and Donald Trump's IQ, and our review of US presidents ranked by IQ shows how far even the academic estimates stretch their evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Has Kamala Harris ever taken an IQ test?
There is no public record of Harris taking a professionally administered IQ test, and no score has ever been released. Any number attached to her name online is speculation or fabrication.
Did Kamala Harris score 78 on an IQ test at Howard University?
No evidence supports this. Snopes rated the claim Unfounded. It originated in an anonymous Reddit post that its author later deleted, and no test record of any kind exists.
Did Kamala Harris fail the bar exam?
Yes, on her first attempt in 1989. She passed on her second attempt and was admitted to the California bar in June 1990. The California bar is notoriously difficult, and bar exams test legal knowledge and preparation rather than IQ.
Where did Kamala Harris go to college?
Howard University, where she earned a B.A. in political science and economics in 1986, followed by a J.D. in 1989 from UC Hastings College of the Law (now UC College of the Law, San Francisco).
Is there a scientific estimate of Kamala Harris's IQ?
No. The only peer-reviewed political IQ estimation study (Simonton, 2006) covers presidents from Washington through George W. Bush, and her admissions test scores have never been made public, so no defensible estimate can be computed.
The takeaway
Kamala Harris's IQ is unmeasured as far as the public record is concerned, and the viral 78 is a textbook example of how a fabricated number travels. Documented records deserve more weight than anonymous screenshots. If you are curious about your own score, a properly normed assessment such as the Reasoning and Intelligence Online Test reports modern deviation scores with stated precision. You can start with the free IQ test from RIOT IQ.
References
1. PenzeyMoog, C. (2024). No evidence Harris got an IQ score of 78 while attending Howard University. Snopes. snopes.com
2. Snopes. (2024). Kamala Harris failed her bar exam on first try?snopes.com
5. Simonton, D. K. (2006). Presidential IQ, openness, intellectual brilliance, and leadership: Estimates and correlations for 42 U.S. chief executives. Political Psychology, 27(4), 511-526. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2006.00524.x
6. Frey, M. C., & Detterman, D. K. (2004). Scholastic assessment or g? The relationship between the Scholastic Assessment Test and general cognitive ability. Psychological Science, 15(6), 373-378. doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00687.x
Hero image: official White House portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris by Lawrence Jackson, 2021. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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