A graduate of Columbia College, Charles M. Stam earned a dual degree in history and political science. He focused his political studies on international relations and American politics, which he combined with historical research and coursework in counterinsurgency studies and presidential history. In addition to his studies at Columbia College's New York City campus, Charles Maurice Stam studied in France through a program sponsored by Bryn Mawr College. While abroad, he pursued coursework in European economy and culture as well as in the literary work of Molière.
In his final year of undergraduate study, Charles Maurice Stam earned nomination to an elite presidential fellowship with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. This fellowship brought Charles M. Stam to Washington, DC, where he attended presentations by highly regarded political experts and interacted with other high-performing political science students. He completed the fellowship shortly before his 2012 graduation, after which he accepted a public policy analysis position with a firm in New York City.