Here follows a list of notable alumni, non-graduate attendees, faculty, and presidents of the University of Rochester. The institution has more than 120,000 living alumni as of 2022.

Note: Some individuals are listed in multiple categories (e.g., alumni who were also members of the faculty). In such cases, a parenthetical note identifies the second relevant category. Recipients of honorary degrees from the university are not included. All degree years are for bachelor's degrees unless otherwise noted. For a list of alumni of the Eastman School of Music, see List of Eastman School of Music people.

Notable alumni

Nobel laureates Name Class Year Notability Reference 1956; 1960 (MD) 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1970 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, 12th United States Secretary of Energy 1943 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1941 (MD) 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1955 (PhD) 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics 1989 (PhD) 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics 1970 (MA), 1974 (PhD) 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics (see also under 'Notable faculty') 1927 (PhD) 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

National Medal winners Name Class Year Notability Reference 1911 National Medal of Arts, writer and director 1967 National Humanities Medal, educator 1952 (PhD) National Medal of Science, physicist 1945 (MS) National Medal of Science, chemist and physicist (see also under 'Notable faculty') 1939 (PhD) National Medal of Science, astrophysicist 1983 (MM) National Medal of Arts, singer 1954 (MD) National Medal of Science, Presidential Medal of Freedom, epidemiologist 1984 (PhD) National Humanities Medal, historian 1939 (PhD); 1944 (MD) National Medal of Science, geneticist 1951 (MS) National Medal of Science, chemist 1920 National Medal of Science, physicist 1949 (PhD) National Medal of Technology, biotechnology entrepreneur

National academy members Alumni listed here were elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, or national academies outside the United States. Name Class Year Notability Reference 1969 (PhD) The Royal Society, Indian National Science Academy, physicist 1994 (MD) National Academy of Medicine, physician 1975 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1977 (PhD) National Academy of Medicine, psychiatrist 1958 (DMA) American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize 1967 National Academy of Medicine, microbiologist 1973 The Royal Society of Canada, psychologist and sexologist 1978 National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist 1995 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist, 9th Chancellor of Vanderbilt University 1957 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, geneticist 1979 (PhD) National Academy of Engineering, optical engineer 1993 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1941 (MD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, hematologist 1972 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1955 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher 1974 (PhD) The Royal Society of Canada, astrophysicist 1978 (MBA), 1981 (MS), 1983 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist 1862 National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, geologist, 1st Chief Geologist of the United States Geological Survey 1949 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist and physicist 1988 (MS), 1991 (PhD) National Academy of Engineering, engineer 1967, 1970 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist 1972 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, anthropologist 1977 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, literary scholar 1973 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, neuroscientist, 16th President of MIT 1991 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1969 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher 1978 (PhD) The Royal Society of Canada, historian 1952 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1st U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, Chairman and CEO of Xerox 1990 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist 1977 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, physicist 1949 (MA) American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, poet, MacArthur Fellow, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award 1980 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist 1969 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, lawyer, Chair of the Legal Services Corporation 1976 (MD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, immunologist 1980 National Academy of Sciences, astrophysicist 1986 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 2000 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist 1968 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, The Royal Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, geophysicist 1978 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, hematologist 1992 (PhD) National Academy of Medicine, nurse 1973 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1966 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, literary scholar 1953 National Academy of Sciences, immunologist 1968 (MD) National Academy of Medicine, anesthesiologist, Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 1982 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1961 (MD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychiatrist 1952 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, scientist and governmental advisor 1968 (MD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, neuroscientist 1969 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1963 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, chemist 1961 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher 1867 American Academy of Arts and Letters, historian, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York 1978 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1948 National Academy of Medicine, pathologist, Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute 1938 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physiologist 1977 (MS), 1980 (PhD) National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, computer scientist, founder of Microsoft Research 1971 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1973 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, legal scholar 1968 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist and ecologist 1971 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, linguist and cognitive scientist 1974 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist 1945 (MD) National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, nutritionist, recipient of the World Food Prize 1964 National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, atmospheric scientist, recipient of the Tyler Prize 1970 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1969 (PhD) Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, mathematician 1961 National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist, 11th President of the University of Chicago 1966 (MS) National Academy of Engineering, engineer, inventor of the laser printer, elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame 1956 (PhD) National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, molecular biologist, MacArthur Fellow 1955 National Academy of Sciences, chemist 1997 (PhD) National Academy of Medicine, nurse 1988 National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist and virologist 1997 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist 1992 (MS), 1999 (MPH), 2001 (PhD) National Academy of Medicine, public health scientist 1956 (DMA) American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize 1986 (PhD) The Royal Society, optical physicist, Provost of Imperial College London 1939 American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize 1938 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist, 8th President of Tufts University 1957 (PhD) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, historian 1969 (PhD) National Academy of Engineering, optical scientist, 1st Dean of the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences 1942 (BS, MS) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, nuclear physicist, 1st Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, 1st Chief Scientist at DARPA 1994 National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist 1978 (PhD) Pakistan Academy of Sciences, optical physicist

Academia Institutional leaders Name Class Year Notability Reference 1858 8th President of Denison University, 5th President of the Old University of Chicago 1965 President (interim), Dean of the College, Brown University 1967 (PhD) 4th President of the NCAA, 16th President of Indiana University, 14th President of the University of Oregon 1976 9th President of the University of Saskatchewan, Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University 1965 Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland, College Park 1977 (PhD) Dean of the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan 1970, 1974 (MD) 2nd Dean of the Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University 1870 6th President of Amherst College, 9th President of Rutgers University 1997 (PhD) 19th President of Ursinus College 1955 (PhD) 9th President of City College of New York 1969 (PhD) 18th Principal and Vice Chancellor of Queen's University, 16th President of the University at Albany 1966 1st Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University 1884 10th President of Denison University, 6th President of Bucknell University 1980 (EdD) 10th President of Gallaudet University 1859 1st Chancellor of McMaster University 1985 (PhD) 52nd Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta 1971 (PhD) 6th Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, former Dean of Harvard Medical School and the UCSF School of Medicine 1975 (PhD) Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Niagara University 1939 (PhD) Acting President of Tufts University 1947 (PhD) 5th President of the Juilliard School 1868 8th President of the University at Albany, President of the State University of New York at Geneseo 1981 (PhD) 16th President of Bucknell University, 11th President of Washington & Jefferson College 1858 6th President of Indiana University, 2nd President of the Old University of Chicago 1981 (MD) 1st Dean of the College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University 1873 9th President of Amherst College 1962 (PhD) 8th President of Bowling Green State University 1943 2nd Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University (MBA) President of Utrecht University 1977, 1982 (MD) Dean of the College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University 1970 (MD) Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine 1937 8th President of Claremont Graduate University, 1st President of Harvey Mudd College 1970 (MD) Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health 1971 (PhD) President (interim), Provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology 1980 (MS) Dean of the Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University 1868 4th President of Vassar College 1941 (PhD) 1st President of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1st Chancellor of the University of Alabama System

Professors and researchers