Ruchi Hajela received an MSc in International Political Economy from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in July 2011. This was completed under a student research assistantship study award from RSIS. Prior to this, she was a journalist in India from 2005–09, during which she also worked with the Hindustan Times, a leading Indian national newspaper. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (with honours) in English Literature from the University of Delhi in 2004.