 Returning to the U.S., Dallin completed his undergraduate degree at City College of New York in 1947, and then a master's degree and Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1948 and 1953, respectively.During his graduate studies, Dallin joined the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System.There he interviewed refugees and émigrés from the Soviet Union in order to better understand and evaluate the characteristics and workings of the Soviet system based on reports of those interviewed.