Lyman graduated from high school at Brigham Young Academy (BYA) in Provo, Utah, in 1891 with a Normal Certificate, taught at Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah, and later studied at the University of Michigan, graduating with a B.S. degree in 1895.
Lyman had planned to marry Amy Brown, whom he met as a student at BYA, but delayed this while he attended university in Michigan.