Cosmin Panait received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Emory University. He went on to the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He earned a Master's degree in Management Studies from Duke.
He graduate education was a transforming experience for him, making him appreciative not just for the teaching he got at the institution, but also for the network of individuals he met there. He keeps in touch with numerous graduates and considers their friendships to be as significant as the formal teachings he gained at Duke.