 When he started his university studies, Boas first attended Heidelberg University for a semester followed by four terms at Bonn University, studying physics, geography, and mathematics at these schools.In 1879, he hoped to transfer to Berlin University to study physics under Hermann von Helmholtz, but ended up transferring to the University of Kiel instead due to family reasons.At Kiel, Boas studied under Theobald Fischer and received a doctorate in physics in 1881 for his dissertation entitled "Contributions to the Understanding of the Color of Water", which examined the absorption, reflection, and the polarization of light in seawater.