This is a list of athletes with advanced degrees (PhDs and other degrees at that academic level). Honorary degrees are excluded.
In many countries, the first medical degree is the MBBS (with MD being reserved for higher doctorates), yet holders of this degree are addressed as "doctor" while practising.
Athlete | Degree | Field | Institution | Known for |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Allen | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [30] | Major League Baseball player |
Pete Allen | MD | Medicine | College of Philadelphia Department of Medicine [31] | Major League Baseball player, professor at Jefferson Medical College |
Steve Arlin | DDS | Dental surgery | Ohio State University College of Dentistry [32] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Mark Baldwin | MD | Medicine | Baltimore Medical College [33] | |
Roger Bannister | Medicine, Neurology | Exeter College, Oxford | Olympic middle-distance runner, first person to break the 4 minute mile | |
Walter Bernhardt | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [34] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Bobby Brown | MD | Medicine | Tulane University School of Medicine [35] | Major League Baseball third baseman and president of the American League |
Lou Bruce | DDS | Dental surgery | Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery [36] | Major League Baseball player, Mohawk activist |
David Bruton | DPT | Physical therapy | University of Colorado School of Medicine [37] | National Football League safety |
Doc Bushong | DDS | Dental surgery | Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery [38] | Major League Baseball catcher, possible inventor of the catcher's mitt, namesake of Bushong, Kansas [39] |
Billy Cannon | University of Tennessee College of Dentistry [40] | National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner | ||
Doc Carroll | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [41] [42] | Major League Baseball catcher |
Elise Chabbey | MD | Medicine [43] | Professional racing cyclist | |
Jack Darragh | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [30] | Major League Baseball player |
Terry Dischinger | University of Tennessee College of Dentistry [44] | National Basketball Association All-Star | ||
Kevin Draxinger | MD | Medicine | University of British Columbia [45] [46] | Canadian backstroke swimmer at the 1992 Summer Olympics |
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | MDCM | McGill University Faculty of Medicine [47] | National Football League guard, Super Bowl champion | |
Doc Farrell | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [48] | Major League Baseball infielder |
Simon Fraser | DO | Medicine | Ohio University Heritage School of Medicine [49] | National Football League defensive end |
Moonlight Graham | MD [50] | Baltimore Medical College | Major League Baseball player whose life story was featured in the 1989 film Field of Dreams | |
Randy Gregg | MD | University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry [51] | National Hockey League player | |
Tom Gunning | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine [52] | Major League Baseball player | ||
Mark Hamilton | Zucker School of Medicine [53] | |||
Eric Heiden | Stanford University School of Medicine [54] | American long track speed skater and five-time gold medalist at the Winter Olympics. Regarded as most successful Winter Olympian and one of 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century. | ||
Gail Hopkins | Rush Medical College | Major League Baseball player [5] | ||
Les Horvath | DDS | Dental surgery | Ohio State University College of Dentistry [32] | National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner |
Nate Hughes | MD | Medicine | University of Mississippi Medical Center [55] | National Football League wide receiver |
Doc Imlay | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [30] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Jumping Jack Jones | Harvard Dental School | Major League Baseball pitcher [56] | ||
MD | Medicine | Yale Medical School | ||
Ryan Kohlmeier | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dentistry [57] | Major League Baseball player |
Lise Leveille | MD | Medicine | Queen's University at Kingston [15] | French Canadian gymnast represented at the 2000 Olympic Games. |
Jim Lonborg | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [58] | Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher |
Joel Makovicka | DPT | Physical therapy | Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions [59] | National Football League player |
Justin Maxwell | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Maryland School of Dentistry [60] | Major League Baseball outfielder |
Doc McMahon | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [61] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Doc Medich | MD | Medicine | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine | |
Bill Mlkvy | DMD | Dental medicine | Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry [62] | National Basketball Association player |
Bill McColl | MD | Medicine, neurosurgery | Pritzker School of Medicine [63] | National Football League player, missionary, father of Milt McColl |
Milt McColl | Medicine | Stanford University School of Medicine [64] [65] | National Football League player, son of Bill McColl | |
Nadia Nadim | Medicine | Aarhus University [66] | National Women's Soccer League and Denmark Women's National Football Team player | |
Jack Nichols | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [67] | National Basketball Association player |
Rich Nye | DVM | Veterinary medicine | University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine [68] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Dip Orange | MD | Medicine | Meharry Medical College [69] [70] | Negro National League baseball player |
Charlie Pechous | Stritch School of Medicine [71] | Major League Baseball player | ||
Arlie Pond | University of Vermont College of Medicine [72] | |||
Bob Poser | University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health [73] [74] | |||
Myron Rolle | Florida State University College of Medicine [75] [76] | National Football League safety, Rhodes Scholar | ||
Frank Sexton | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine [30] | Major League Baseball pitcher | ||
Harvey Smith | ||||
Genevra Stone | Tufts University School of Medicine [77] | Olympic rower | ||
Ad Swigler | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania Dental School [78] | Major League Baseball player |
Ron Taylor | MD | Medicine | University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine [79] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Henry Thielman | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [30] | |
Jenny Thompson | MD | Medicine | Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons | Olympic swimmer |
Will Thompson | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [30] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Doc White | Georgetown University School of Dentistry [80] | |||
Walt Whittaker | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [41] [81] | |
Haley Wickenheiser | MD | Medicine | University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine | Canadian Olympic ice hockey gold medal player and team captain, considered among the greatest female ice hockey players of all time, then a physician |
In some countries, the Juris Doctor is the standard professional degree required to practice law, although the holder is usually not addressed as "doctor".
Person | Degree | Field | Institution | Known for | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nadine Apetz | PhD | Neuroscience | University Hospital Cologne | German amateur boxer | Studying as of 2016 [104] |
Pau Gasol | MD | Medicine | University of Barcelona | Professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague | Dropped out [105] |
Hadia Hosny | PhD | Pharmacology | Cairo University | Egyptian Olympic badminton player | Studying as of 2015 [106] |
Hui Ruoqi | PhD | Physical education | Nanjing Normal University | Chinese volleyball player | Studying as of 2017 [107] |
Pál Schmitt | PhD | Physical education | Semmelweis University | Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician | Revoked [108] |
Louise Shanahan | PhD | Quantum physics | Cambridge University | Irish Olympic athlete | Studying as of 2019 [109] |
Chris Spence | EdD | Education | University of Toronto | Canadian Football League player | Revoked [110] [111] [112] |
Shao Ting | PhD | Education | Beijing Normal University | Chinese basketball player for the Beijing Great Wall and the Chinese national team | Studying as of 2019 [113] |
Veronica Toro Arana | MD | Medicine | Stanford University School of Medicine | Puerto Rican Olympic rower | Studying as of 2016 [114] |
Sun Yang | PhD | Kinesiology | Shanghai University of Sport | Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. | Studying as of 2018 [115] |
The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of nine colonial colleges and was chartered prior to the U.S. Declaration of Independence when Benjamin Franklin, the university's founder and first president, advocated for an educational institution that trained leaders in academia, commerce, and public service. Penn identifies as the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, though this representation is challenged by other universities since Franklin first convened the board of trustees in 1749, arguably making it the fifth-oldest.
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