Musgrave started her undergrad studies at
Cambridge University but was interrupted by the second world war. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in economics at
American University in Washington, D.C.. In 1962 she received her Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University, and she received an award from the
Ford Foundation for her Ph.D. dissertation. Musgrave's academic career began as a research associate at
Columbia University working with
Carl Shoup. She taught international economics at the
University of Pennsylvania and she was appointed as an assistant professor. She was part of the International Tax Program at Harvard Law School. She moved to
Northeastern University in 1968 and by 1978 was a professor of economics. She also held the Ford research professor position at the University of California, Berkeley in 1977. She taught at Vassar College prior to moving to the
University of California, Santa Cruz to take a position as a professor of economics in 1980. She was named provost of the University of Santa Cruz's Crown College in 1986, the first woman to hold the position of provost of Crown College. She stepped down as provost in 1988. == Work ==