In 1987, he earned a bachelor's degree in art and a minor in English from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
During his undergraduate studies, Moore spent a semester as an exchange student at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, which encouraged his interest in international affairs.
In 1991, he earned a master's degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia with a thesis on the thought of Reinhold Niebuhr.
During his doctoral studies, Moore focused on China and East Asia and became the assistant director of the university's Center for China-U.S. Cooperation.
Moore's research interests include international relations theory, constructivism in particular, international security, the North Korean nuclear issue, Sino-American Relations, East Asian studies, and foreign policy analysis of China and the United States.