 Alkire studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.Afterwards, Alkire moved to England and attended the University of Oxford, where she obtained a diploma of theology with a distinction in Islam in 1992.Furthering her postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford, Alkire went on to receive a Master of Philosophy in Christian political ethics and a Master of Science in economics for development in 1994 and 1995, respectively.