while he was silent, he completed three college degrees, culminating in a ph.d. in land management from the university of wisconsin–madison. he walked to ashland, oregon to enroll in southern oregon university, and completed a b.a. there in a two-year program. next, he walked to the state of washington and built a boat, contacting the university of montana and informing them that he'd like to enroll in a master's degree program in about two years. he walked and sailed to montana, and completed his degree there. with little money, he audited classes but professors tracked his grades, and when funds became available to pay for the classes he had taken, they were put on his transcript for credit. as is common with graduate students, francis taught classes while studying for his master's degree.