What is Condoleezza Rice’s IQ?
Documented: a University of Denver PhD in political science in 1981, Stanford’s provost at 38 and the 66th U.S. Secretary of State. Not documented: any IQ test.
No IQ score has been published for Condoleezza Rice as of November 2026, so Condoleezza Rice’s IQ is unknown. This site’s estimate is 130–145 (mean 100, standard deviation 15), inferred from her record, not from a test. That record includes a University of Denver doctorate in 1981, six years as Stanford University’s provost and four as U.S. Secretary of State.
Condoleezza Rice’s estimated IQ
- A bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974, according to the State Department’s biography.
- A master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975 and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian. Wikipedia gives her age at the doctorate as 26.
- Faculty member in political science at Stanford University since 1981, with the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, according to the State Department biography.
- Stanford’s provost from 1993 to 1999, its chief budget and academic officer, which the Alabama Academy of Honor says she became at 38 as the university’s youngest-ever provost.
- National Security Advisor from January 2001 and Secretary of State from January 26, 2005 to January 20, 2009, according to the State Department.
This is an inference from degrees, teaching awards and senior posts, not a test result. A completed doctorate and a university provostship show sustained ability, but they do not fix a score, and the range is wide for that reason.
- Born
- November 14, 1954, Birmingham, Alabama
- Education
- University of Denver (BA political science, 1974); University of Notre Dame (MA, 1975); University of Denver (PhD, 1981)
- Doctorate
- Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver, 1981
- Stanford
- Faculty since 1981; provost 1993–1999
- Government
- National Security Advisor from January 2001; Secretary of State, January 26, 2005 – January 20, 2009
- Teaching honors
- 1984 Walter J. Gores Award; 1993 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching
- Current post
- Tad and Dianne Taube Director, Hoover Institution (as of November 2026)
- Circulating figure
- None found; no published IQ test result
What an IQ of 130–145 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Condoleezza Rice is
Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian. The Alabama Academy of Honor says she was an only child whose parents were both teachers and that she lived in Birmingham until the age of 13. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Denver in 1974, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and her master’s from the University of Notre Dame in 1975.
Was Condoleezza Rice a genius? Her documented record is that of an accomplished scholar and administrator, and no test score backs the word “genius.” Her Ph.D. came from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981, and she has been on the Stanford faculty since 1981, according to the State Department biography. She won the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching. For where the line for “genius” is usually drawn, see whether 130 IQ is genius.
From 1993 to 1999 Rice was Stanford University’s provost, the institution’s chief budget and academic officer, with responsibility for a $1.5 billion annual budget and an academic program of 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students, according to the State Department biography. She served on the National Security Council staff from February 1989 to March 1991 as Director, then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs, according to the Hoover Institution.
Rice was Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 2001 and became the 66th Secretary of State on January 26, 2005, leaving on January 20, 2009. As of November 2026 she is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, according to the Hoover Institution. Wikipedia also records that she trained as a pianist and, at 15, played a Mozart piano concerto with the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
Condoleezza Rice: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1954Born November 14 in Birmingham, Alabama.
- 1974Receives a University of Denver bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
- 1975Receives a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
- 1981Receives a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver and joins Stanford’s faculty.
- 1984Wins the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching.
- 1989Joins the National Security Council staff as Director of Soviet and East European Affairs.
- 1993Becomes Stanford University’s provost; wins the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.
- 1999Completes her six-year tenure as provost in June.
- 2001Becomes National Security Advisor in January.
- 2005Takes office as the 66th Secretary of State on January 26; leaves the post on January 20, 2009.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
No IQ test result has been published for Condoleezza Rice, so Condoleezza Rice’s IQ score is unknown. A number attached to a name without a named test, a date and an examiner is a guess. For how such figures spread, and what to check first, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from. The State Department biography, the Hoover Institution profile and the Alabama Academy of Honor entry all describe her education and career, and none mentions a test score.
How smart is Condoleezza Rice? The documented answer is a record, not a number. She earned a University of Denver bachelor’s degree in 1974, a Notre Dame master’s in 1975 and a Denver doctorate in 1981, then joined Stanford’s political science faculty. Wikipedia says she received the doctorate at 26. Degrees and teaching awards show ability and sustained work, but none of them is an intelligence quotient.
What is Condoleezza Rice’s estimated IQ? This site’s estimate is 130–145, the same band as Hillary Clinton (130–145), who succeeded her as Secretary of State, and just below Henry Kissinger (135–150), another foreign-policy figure on this site with an academic record. It is also below Angela Merkel (138–155), whose completed doctorate also places her estimate higher on this site.
On the usual scale (SD 15), 130 is about 1 in 44 people and 145 is about 1 in 741. For what a score near the top of her range implies, see what an IQ of 140 means, and use the percentile calculator for any score in between. The site also covers other political figures we have checked.
How we read a number →No school, university or clinical IQ result for Rice is public. The State Department biographies, the Hoover Institution profile, the Alabama Academy of Honor entry and the Wikipedia biography describe her education, posts and honors, and none gives an IQ.
Gives her birth date and place, degrees in 1974, 1975 and 1981, Stanford faculty service since 1981, the 1984 and 1993 teaching awards and the provostship that ended in June 1999.
Confirms her nomination on November 14, 2004, her term from January 26, 2005 to January 20, 2009, her degrees and her Stanford provostship from 1993 to 1999.
Gives her current titles as director of the Hoover Institution and professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, her National Security Council service from 1989 to 1991 and her honors.
Says she became Stanford’s youngest-ever provost at 38 in 1993 and gives her education and teaching awards.
Used for her age at the doctorate (26), the Mozart concerto with the Denver Symphony Orchestra at 15, her office dates and her current Hoover post. Lists her as living.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Condoleezza Rice, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
No IQ figure is attached to Condoleezza Rice in the State Department biographies, the Hoover Institution profile or the Alabama Academy of Honor entry, although people do search for “Condoleezza Rice IQ” and “Condoleezza Rice IQ score.”
The State Department’s biography, the Office of the Historian’s entry, the Hoover Institution’s profile, the Alabama Academy of Honor and the Wikipedia biography describe her degrees, posts and honors. None gives an IQ test score. A web search for her IQ score found no page that states one.
With nothing circulating, there is no spread to audit. 130–145 is this site’s estimated range for Condoleezza Rice and the only figure on the page. It rests on a record, not a test, so its floor, its top and its fifteen-point width are judgments.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Condoleezza Rice — frequently asked
What is Condoleezza Rice’s IQ?
No IQ test result has been published for Condoleezza Rice, so Condoleezza Rice’s IQ is unknown as of November 2026. This site’s estimated range is 130–145 on a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, inferred from her doctorate and career, not from a test.
What is Condoleezza Rice’s IQ score?
No Condoleezza Rice IQ score is on record: no school, university or clinical result has been published, and the State Department and Hoover Institution biographies give none. This site’s 130–145 is an estimate from public achievement. A figure without a named test, date and examiner is a guess.
How smart is Condoleezza Rice?
The documented record is a University of Denver Ph.D. in political science in 1981, faculty service at Stanford since 1981, a term as Stanford’s provost from 1993 to 1999 and four years as Secretary of State. According to the State Department, none of that is a test score.
Did Condoleezza Rice take an IQ test?
No published source says so. No school, university or clinical IQ result for Condoleezza Rice is public, and the State Department, Hoover Institution and Alabama Academy of Honor biographies do not mention one. Any claim that she scored a specific number needs a named test, a date and an examiner.
Is Condoleezza Rice a genius?
The record shows an accomplished scholar and administrator, not a measured genius. “Genius” has no fixed IQ cut-off, and no test score backs the word for Condoleezza Rice. This site’s estimated range for her is 130–145 on a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
How does Condoleezza Rice’s estimated IQ compare with Henry Kissinger’s?
This site estimates 130–145 for Condoleezza Rice and 135–150 for Henry Kissinger. Both ranges rest on academic and career records, not tests, and they overlap from 135 to 145, so neither can be called higher.
When did Condoleezza Rice earn her doctorate?
Condoleezza Rice earned her Ph.D. in political science from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian. Wikipedia gives her age at the time as 26.
How does my IQ compare with Condoleezza Rice?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other politics profiles, starting with Thomas Jefferson.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More politics profiles — same field, same method
More politics
Official U.S. Department of State portrait, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. · Photograph by Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Official portrait by the U.S. Department of State (January 2009), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above.
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