Shiva studied physics at Panjab University in Chandigarh, graduating as a bachelor of science in 1972.[8] After a brief stint at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, she moved to Canada to pursue a Masters in the philosophy of science at the University of Guelph in 1977 where she wrote a thesis entitled "Changes in the concept of periodicity of light".[8][9] In 1978, she completed and received her PhD in philosophy at the University of Western Ontario,[3] focusing on philosophy of physics.