Turrell got a pilot's license when he was 16 years old. He carried supplies by plane to mines that were far away. He also made maps by flying over areas. He earned a BA degree from Pomona College in perceptual psychology in 1965. He studied the Ganzfeld effect and mathematics, geology and astronomy there. Turrell entered the graduate Studio Art program at the University of California, Irvine in 1966. Then he began making work using light projections. In 1966 he was arrested for teaching young men how to avoid getting drafted in the Vietnam War. He spent about a year in jail and left UC Irvine. In 1973, he earned an MA degree in art from Claremont Graduate University. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Haverford College.