Notable academics
- Khurshid Ahmad, Islamic scholar
- Chris Allen, British sociologist and associate professor at the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester
- Penelope Allison, Professor of Archaeology
- Lyman Andrews, American Studies
- Isobel Armstrong, scholar of nineteenth-century poetry and women's writing
- Graeme Barker, Disney Professor of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
- Martin Barstow, astronomer and former President of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Andrew Blain, astronomer
- Richard Bonney, historian
- Alan Bryman, social scientist
- Grace Burrows, violinist and orchestra conductor
- Neil Christie, Reader in Archaeology
- Nicholas T. Clerk, Ghanaian academic, public administrator and Presbyterian minister
- John Coffey, Professor of Early Modern history.
- Heather Couper, astronomer and television presenter
- Rosemary Crompton, sociologist
- Nicholas J. Cull, US historian
- Panicos Demetriades, economist and Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus
- Gabriel Dover, geneticist
- Eric Dunning, sports sociologist
- Christopher Dyer, medieval historian
- Colin Eaborn FRS, chemist
- Norbert Elias, German sociologist
- Brian J. Ford, scientist, visiting professor
- G. S. Fraser, Scottish poet
- Ali A. F. Al-Furaih, professor of geology
- Anthony Giddens, prominent sociologist, taught social psychology at Leicester
- Reuben Goodstein, mathematician, proponent of Goodstein's theorem
- Cosmo Graham, Public law and Competition law specialist, member of the Competition Commission
- Sarah Hainsworth, Professor of Materials and Forensic Engineering, involved in analysing the wounds on the skeleton of Richard III
- Rosalind Hill, historian
- Jeffrey A. Hoffman, NASA astronaut and physicist
- Richard Hoggart, sociologist
- W. G. Hoskins, (1931–1952) (1965–1968), local historian, author of The Making of the English Landscape
- Norman Housley, crusading historian
- Jeremy Howick, director of the Stoneygate Centre for Excellence in Empathic Healthcare and inaugural Professor of Empathic Healthcare
- Arthur Humphreys, inaugural Professor of English and first Dean of the Faculty of Arts
- Leonard Huxley, physicist
- Suzanne Imber, planetary scientist and winner of the 2017 BBC Two television programme Astronauts, Do You Have What It Takes?
- Sir Alec Jeffreys, geneticist, discoverer of genetic fingerprinting
- Hans Kornberg, biochemist
- Philip Larkin, librarian and poet
- Loretta Lees, Urban Geographer
- David Mattingly, Roman archaeologist
- John McManners, former Head of History Dept., Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford until retirement
- Marilyn Palmer, archaeologist and landscape historian, Professor of Industrial Archaeology and Head of the School of Archaeology and Ancient History (2000–2006)
- Ken Pounds, Emeritus Professor of Physics, discovered black holes were common in the universe
- Charles Rees, organic chemist
- Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, the Astronomer Royal, visiting professor at Leicester
- Adrian Henry Wardle Robinson, geographer and historian of maritime surveying
- J.B. Schneewind, philosophy professor, Johns Hopkins University
- Malcolm Shaw QC, The Sir Robert Jennings Professor of International Law, prominent international lawyer and jurist
- Jack Simmons, Professor of History 1947–1975
- Brian Simon, Professor of Education 1966–1980
- Nial Tanvir, astronomer
- Abraham Wasserstein, Professor of Classics 1960–1969 and Dean of the Faculty of Arts
- Sami Zubaida, political scientist
