He holds a PhD in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2015), a Master of Applied Science degree from the University of Melbourne (2008), an Advanced Diploma in Geographic Information Science from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (2004) and a Bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of British Columbia (2002). Prior to his professorship, Grant was a founding member of the Seattle based start-up Spatial Development International and worked as a geospatial software developer for the Engineering Consulting firm CH2M Hill.