Morris was motivated to study mathematical economics at Queen's University at Kingston by a job doing econometrics at a bank, but lost interest in the economic applications of mathematics after a year, instead switching into a program in mathematics and engineering, which she finished in 1982. She became interested in control theory while studying for a master's degree at the University of Waterloo. After completing the degree in 1984, she continued at Waterloo as a doctoral student, and earned her Ph.D. there in 1989. Her dissertation, Finite-Dimensional Control of Infinite-Dimensional Systems, was supervised by Mathukumalli Vidyasagar.
