Bruce A. Karsh was born in 1955 to a Jewish family, the son of David H. Karsh, and Roberta “Bobby” Karsh. In 1974, he graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis. In 1977, Karsh earned an A.B. degree in economics from Duke University where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1980 he earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received the academic award Order of the Coif. While at the University of Virginia he served as notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review.