The relationship between educational background and mobility into the executive ranks of state government was examined in a questionnaire survey of 839 state executives at the assistant division chief level and above. This study is part of a large study of the background characteristics of executives from South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The major conclusions are: (1) Over half of the executives had graduate level education, and 48 percent had graduate level degrees, a finding that indicates the declining value of a bachelor's degree. (2) Three primary areas at the undergraduate level allow maximum executive mobility--the physical and biological sciences, business, finance and economics, and engineering--and these are areas in which women and minorities are less likely to major. (3) A select few colleges and universities in the region provide the greatest opportunity for mobility, especially in terms of graduate degree program offerings. (4) The educational system poses barriers for the mobility of women into the executive ranks of government that few policy-makers have adequately analyzed. Recommendations are made for expanding opportunities. (LBH)