He attended the public schools in Bay City and then studied at Washington and Jefferson College for one year.

[1] Tupper next attended the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Literary Department.

[2][3] Tupper subsequently attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, receiving his degree in 1896.

He also studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, taking specialized courses in gynecology, surgery and children's diseases.

[1] He was reportedly the first physician in Michigan to use x-ray therapy and among the first to use gas anaesthetic and perform bone-grafting surgery.