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This is a list of athletes with advanced degrees (PhDs and other degrees at that academic level). Excluded are honorary degrees.
Athlete | Degree | Field | Institution | Known for |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Allen | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [1] | Major League Baseball player |
Pete Allen | MD | Medicine | College of Philadelphia Department of Medicine [2] | Major League Baseball player, professor at Jefferson Medical College |
Steve Arlin | DDS | Dental surgery | Ohio State University College of Dentistry [3] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Billy Arnold | PhD | MIAT College of Technology [4] | Racecar driver and champion of the 1930 Indianapolis 500 | |
Terry Baker | JD | Law | USC Gould School of Law [5] [6] | National Football League quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner |
Dave Baldwin | PhD | Genetics | University of Arizona [7] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Mark Baldwin | MD | Medicine | Baltimore Medical College [8] | |
Walter Bernhardt | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [9] | |
Cliff Brantley | JD | Law | Rutgers Law School [10] [11] | |
Bill Bray | William & Mary Law School [12] | |||
Bobby Brown | MD | Medicine | Tulane University School of Medicine [13] | Major League Baseball third baseman and president of the American League |
Lou Bruce | DDS | Dental surgery | Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery [14] | Major League Baseball player, Mohawk activist |
David Bruton | DPT | Physical Therapy | University of Colorado School of Medicine [15] | National Football League safety |
Nick Buoniconti | JD | Law | Suffolk University Law School [16] | National Football League linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer |
Doc Bushong | DDS | Dental surgery | Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery [17] | Major League Baseball catcher, possible inventor of the catcher's mitt, namesake of Bushong, Kansas [18] |
Billy Cannon | University of Tennessee College of Dentistry [19] | National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner | ||
Chris Carr | JD | Law | George Washington University Law School [20] | National Football League cornerback and kick returner |
Doc Carroll | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [21] [22] | Major League Baseball catcher |
Elise Chabbey | MD | Medicine [23] | Professional racing cyclist | |
Donn Clendenon | JD | Law | Duquesne University School of Law [24] | Major League Baseball player and 1969 World Series MVP |
Cris Collinsworth | University of Cincinnati School of Law [25] | Sportscaster and former National Football League wide receiver | ||
Jack Darragh | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [1] | Major League Baseball player |
Jarett Dillard | JD | Law | South Texas College of Law [26] | National Football League wide receiver |
Terry Dischinger | DDS | Dental Surgery | University of Tennessee College of Dentistry [27] | National Basketball Association All-Star |
Travis Dorsch | PhD | Sports and Exercise Psychology | Purdue University | National Football League punter, triathlon professor at Utah State University |
Kevin Draxinger | MD | Medicine | University of British Columbia [28] [29] | Canadian backstroke swimmer at the 1992 Summer Olympics |
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | MDCM | Medicine | McGill University Faculty of Medicine [30] | National Football League guard, Super Bowl champion |
Len Elmore | JD | Law | Harvard Law School [31] | National Basketball Association player |
Doc Farrell | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [32] | Major League Baseball infielder |
Simon Fraser | DO | Medicine | Ohio University Heritage School of Medicine [33] | National Football League defensive end |
Moonlight Graham | MD [34] | Baltimore Medical College | Major League Baseball player whose life story was featured in the 1989 film Field of Dreams | |
Katherine Grainger | PhD | Law | King's College London [35] | British former rower and current Chair of UK Sport. Summer Olympics gold and silver medallist as well World champion. |
Randy Gregg | MD | Medicine | University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry [36] | National Hockey League player |
Tom Gunning | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine [37] | Major League Baseball player | ||
Mark Hamilton | Zucker School of Medicine [38] | |||
Eric Heiden | Stanford University School of Medicine [39] | 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. | ||
Joe Hietpas | JD | Law | Washington University School of Law [40] | Major League Baseball catcher |
Gail Hopkins | MD | Medicine | Rush Medical College | Major League Baseball player [41] |
PhD | Biology | Illinois Institute of Technology | ||
Les Horvath | DDS | Dental surgery | Ohio State University College of Dentistry [3] | National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner |
Tom House | PhD | Sports psychology | United States International University [42] [43] [44] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Nate Hughes | MD | Medicine | University of Mississippi Medical Center [45] | National Football League wide receiver |
Billy Hunter | JD | Law | UC Berkeley School of Law [46] | National Football League wide receiver, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association |
Charlotte Hym | PhD | Cognitive neuroscience and Psychology | Paris Descartes University [47] | French street skateboarder competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics |
Doc Imlay | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [1] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Charley Johnson | PhD | Chemical Engineering | Washington University in St. Louis | NFL quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals and Denver Broncos |
Jumping Jack Jones | DDS | Dental surgery | Harvard Dental School | Major League Baseball pitcher [48] |
MD | Medicine | Yale Medical School | ||
Anna Kiesenhofer | PhD | Applied mathematics [49] | Polytechnic University of Catalonia | 2020 Olympic champion in the women's individual cycling road race |
Vitali Klitschko | Sports science [50] | Kyiv University | World champion boxer and Ukrainian politician | |
Wladimir Klitschko | Sports science [51] | Kyiv University [52] | World champion heavyweight boxer | |
Ryan Kohlmeier | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dentistry [53] | Major League Baseball player |
Steve Korcheck | EdD | Education | George Washington University [54] | |
Tony La Russa | JD | Law | Florida State University College of Law | Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame manager [55] |
Lise Leveille | MD | Medicine | Queen's University at Kingston, University of British Columbia [56] | French Canadian gymnast represented at the 2000 Olympic Games. |
PhD | Neuroscience | |||
Jim Lonborg | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [57] | Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher |
Fletcher Low | PhD | Chemistry | Columbia University [58] | Major League Baseball player, Dartmouth College professor, New Hampshire legislator |
Ed Lynch | JD | Law | University of Miami School of Law [59] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Mike Marshall | PhD | Kinesiology [ citation needed ] or exercise physiology [60] [61] | Michigan State University | Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher |
Justin Maxwell | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Maryland School of Dentistry [62] | Major League Baseball outfielder |
Martin Mayhew | JD | Law | Georgetown University Law Center [63] | National Football League player and executive |
Doc McMahon | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [64] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Doc Medich | MD | Medicine | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine | |
Gerry Meehan | JD | Law | University at Buffalo Law School [65] | National Hockey League player and executive |
Bill Mlkvy | DMD | Dental medicine | Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry [66] | National Basketball Association player |
Morris Mott | PhD | Sports history | Queen's University at Kingston [67] | National Hockey League player |
Bill McColl | MD | Medicine, neurosurgery | Pritzker School of Medicine [68] | National Football League player, missionary, father of Milt McColl |
Milt McColl | Medicine | Stanford University School of Medicine [69] [70] | National Football League player, son of Bill McColl | |
Nadia Nadim | Aarhus University [71] | National Women's Soccer League and Denmark Women's National Football Team player | ||
Jack Nichols | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [72] | National Basketball Association player |
Rich Nye | DVM | Veterinary medicine | University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine [73] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Shaquille O'Neal | EdD | Education | Barry University [74] [75] | National Basketball Association player |
Dip Orange | MD | Medicine | Meharry Medical College [76] [77] | Negro National League baseball player |
Alan Page | JD | Law | University of Minnesota Law School [78] | National Football League player, member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court |
Charlie Pechous | MD | Medicine | Stritch School of Medicine [79] | Major League Baseball player |
Arlie Pond | University of Vermont College of Medicine [80] | |||
Emma Pooley | PhD | Geotechnical engineering | ETH Zurich [81] | World Champion and Olympic medal-winning cyclist and triathlete |
Bob Poser | MD | Medicine | University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health [82] [83] | Major League Baseball player |
Myron Rolle | Florida State University College of Medicine [84] [85] | National Football League safety, Rhodes Scholar | ||
Frank Ryan | PhD | Mathematics | Rice University [86] | National Football League quarterback |
Ted Savage | Urban studies | Saint Louis University [87] | Major League Baseball player | |
Frank Sexton | MD | Medicine | University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine [1] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Harvey Smith | Major League Baseball player | |||
Wally Snell | PhD | Botany | University of Wisconsin–Madison [88] | Major League Baseball catcher; Brown University professor and Athletic Director |
Genevra Stone | MD | Medicine | Tufts University School of Medicine [89] | Olympic rower |
Ad Swigler | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania Dental School [90] | Major League Baseball player |
Ron Taylor | MD | Medicine | University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine [91] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Henry Thielman | DDS | Dental surgery | University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine [1] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
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 [1] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Naoto Tobe | PhD | Sports science | University of Tsukuba [92] | Japanese high jumper |
Tai Tzu-ying | University of Taipei | 2020 Summer Olympic medal-winning badminton player and three-time Asian badminton champion | ||
John Urschel | Applied mathematics | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | National Football League guard and center | |
Byron White | JD | Law | Yale Law School [93] | National Football League player who became a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States |
Doc White | DDS | Dental surgery | Georgetown University School of Dentistry [94] | Major League Baseball pitcher |
Walt Whittaker | DMD | Dental medicine | Tufts University School of Dental Medicine [21] [95] | |
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 |
Dwayne Woodruff | JD | Law | Duquesne University School of Law [96] | National Football League player, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania judge |
Deng Yaping | PhD | Land Economy | University of Cambridge [97] | Chinese table tennis player, who won eighteen world championships including four Olympic championships, and regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of this sport |
Steve Young | JD | Law | J. Reuben Clark Law School [98] | National Football League quarterback, member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame |
Mikhail Youzhny | PhD | Philosophy | Moscow State University [99] | Tennis player |
Hugues Fabrice Zango | PhD | Electrical engineering | University of Artois [100] | World champion and Olympic medalist, Burkinabé triple and long jumper |
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Person | Degree | Field | Institution | Known for | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nadine Apetz | PhD | Neuroscience | University Hospital Cologne | German amateur boxer | Studying as of 2016 [101] |
Pau Gasol | MD | Medicine | University of Barcelona | Professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague | Dropped out [102] |
Hadia Hosny | PhD | Pharmacology | Cairo University | Egyptian Olympic badminton player | Studying as of 2015 [103] |
Hui Ruoqi | PhD | Physical education | Nanjing Normal University | Chinese volleyball player | Studying as of 2017 [104] |
Pál Schmitt | PhD | Physical education | Semmelweis University | Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician | Revoked [105] |
Louise Shanahan | PhD | Quantum physics | Cambridge University | Irish Olympic athlete | Studying as of 2019 [106] |
Chris Spence | EdD | Education | University of Toronto | Canadian Football League player | Revoked [107] [108] [109] |
Shao Ting | PhD | Education | Beijing Normal University | Chinese basketball player for the Beijing Great Wall and the Chinese national team | Studying as of 2019 [110] |
Veronica Toro Arana | MD | Medicine | Stanford University School of Medicine | Puerto Rican Olympic rower | Studying as of 2016 [111] |
Sun Yang | PhD | Kinesiology | Shanghai University of Sport | Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. | Studying as of 2018 [112] |
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