Lydia Hall graduated from York Hospital School of Nursing in 1927 with a diploma in nursing. However, she felt as if she needed more education. She entered Teacher’s College at Columbia University in New York and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in public health nursing in 1932. After several years in clinical practice, she resumed her education and received a master’s degree in the teaching of natural life sciences from Columbia University in 1942. Later, she pursued a doctorate and completed all of the requirements except for the dissertation.