[1] Miller studied at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a B.A.

He taught for three years at Oahu College (now called Punahou School) in Honolulu before earning his master's degree.

He was first instructor of biology at Los Angeles State Normal School (which would later become UCLA), teaching from 1904 to 1919.

[2] His research included, among others, fossil birds from Pleistocene caves in California, the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Green River Formation in Oregon.

With funding from the University Regents, he and John C. Merriam excavated La Brea from 1905 to 1907 and in 1912–1913.