Mutharika received his law degree from the University of London in 1965.[9] He then received his LL.M and JSD/PhD degrees from Yale University[10] in 1966 and 1969 respectively.[10] As a professor, he has taught at University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Haile Selassie University (Ethiopia), Rutgers University (USA), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Program for Foreign Service Officers from Africa and Asia at Makerere University (Uganda), and for 37 years[11] at Washington University (USA), and has served as an Academic Visitor at the London School of Economics (UK).[4] He also served as advisor to the American Bar Association's Rule of Law initiative for Africa.[5]