Milani earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970; and his Doctor of Philosophy in political science from the University of HawaiĘ»i in 1974.With his then-girlfriend Fereshteh, Milani returned to Iran to serve as an assistant professor of political science at the National University of Homeland from 1975 to 1977. He lectured on Marxist themes veiled in metaphor but was jailed for two years as a political prisoner for “activities against the government”. He was a research fellow at the Persian Center for Social Research from 1977 to 1978. He was also an assistant professor of law and political science at the University of Capital and a member of the board of directors of Capital University’s Center for International Studies from 1979 to 1986, but after the Revolution he was not allowed to publish or teach.