After undergraduate studies in Hungarian and Latin Literatures and Linguistics at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, Csergo received her M.A. in Russian and East European Studies (1992) and her Ph.D. in Political Science (2000) from the George Washington University. Before joining the Queen's faculty, she was Assistant Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of the Women's Leadership Program in U.S. and International Politics at the George Washington University.