Paul Appleby received his Master of Architecture degree from the Yale School of Architecture in 1986.

Two of his projects there were nominated for the Feldman Prize for Best Project of the Year and shown at the 1985 and 1986 National A.I.A. conventions.  A drawing of one of these projects hung in the Associate Dean's office until his retirement. He was a teaching assistant in Architectural Photography and a tutor in Structures.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College in 1978 with a major in Art and minors in Psychology and Literature.  These subjects have continued to be active interests.