After receiving his education at St. Paul's College, Hong Kong, he moved to the United States to study architecture. In 1940, he was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, the MIT Travelling Fellowship and the AIA Gold Medal when he received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1942, he enrolled in the Harvard
Graduate School of Design. A few months later, he serviced on
the National Defence Research Committee in Princeton. In 1944, he returned to Harvard; in 1946, he received his master degree in Architecture and stayed as an assistant professor. In 1951, he received the Wheelwright Travelling Fellowship. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954.
Pei, the last "master" of high modernistarchitecture, has been described as an architect who focuses on abstract form. He prefers materials such as stone, concrete, glass, and steel.
While Pei is one of the most successful 20th century architects in the world, with numerous landmark buildings and extensions to his name, his work has had little influence on architectural theory .