Like her father, Eugenie began her formal studies in Vyborg, graduating in 1926 from the Vyborg Swedish-Speaking Girls' School, then received a bachelor's degree from the University of Helsinki in 1929. Nine years later, she became the first woman to receive a doctorate in physics in Finland in 1938; she received honor's distinctions in other subjects as well. It also made her one of the first 40 Finnish women to earn a doctorate in any discipline. Her advisor was professor Jarl Axel Wasastjerna, later an envoy and industrial leader, whom she thanked for "tireless interest and numerous valuable suggestions". Her 121 page thesis, written in German, was entitled "On the ionization potentials of the elements in different ionization states", and gave little hint of her future as an oceanographer. However, she also thanked the prolific mathematician and fisheries inspector Hjalmar Tallqvist for reviewing early drafts of her work, who may have helped her find a position after graduation.