List of alumni of the University of St Andrews

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This list of alumni of the University of St Andrews includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of the University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.

A group of St Andrews figures, including J. M. Barrie and Douglas Haig, at the 1922 rectorial installation

Academics

Educators

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Andrew Bell	1774	Anglican priest, educationalist, founder of Madras College
Normand MacLaurin	1854 M.A.	Physician; chancellor of the University of Sydney; Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
G. Gabrielle Starr		10th president of Pomona College; attended graduate school at St Andrews as a Robert T. Jones Scholar
Walter Perry	1943 MB ChB, 1948 MD, 1958 DSc	Pharmacologist, physician, first Vice-Chancellor of the Open University, and life peer
Eric Anderson	M.A.	Educationalist and Provost of Eton College
P. C. Anderson	1892 M.A.	Educator, headmaster of Scotch College and golfer; winning the 1893 Amateur Championship
John Adamson	M.A.	Minister, academic, Principal of the University of Edinburgh
Edward Farrer		Oxford University academic and administrator, master of University College
John Fulton		University administrator and public servant; vice-chancellor of the University of Wales and of the University of Sussex; chairman of the British Council
Leonard Huxley		Schoolteacher, writer and editor; son of Thomas Henry Huxley
Annie Lloyd Evans	M.A.	Superintendent of Fulham Training College for Women Teachers

Professors and researchers

Sciences

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Helen ApSimon	PhD	Air pollution expert at Imperial College London
John Hutton Balfour		Botanist and academic
Michael J. Belton		Astronomer; president of the Belton Space Exploration Initiatives; chair of the 2002 NASA Planetary Science Decadal Survey; emeritus astronomer at the Kitt Peak National Observatory	[1]
Michael Berry	1965 PhD	Mathematical physicist, known for discovering the Berry phase	[2]
Gavin Brown	1963 M.A.	Mathematician, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney and the University of Adelaide	[3]
Leslie Hilton Brown		Agriculturalist and ornithologist
Ishbel Campbell	PhD/1931	British chemist researcher and lecturer who held one of the first Commonwealth Fellowships awarded to a woman.	[4]
Hugh Cleghorn	1834 M.A.	Physician, botanist, forester, "the father of scientific forestry in India"
Frank Close	1967 BSc	Particle physicist and Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford
Dougal Dixon	1970 BSc, 1972 MSc	Geologist and author
Angus Fulton	1922 BSc	Civil engineer, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
James Alexander Green		Mathematician and professor at the University of Warwick; active in the field of representation theory
Suzanne Haber	PhD	Academic and neuroscientist, university professor	[5]
Ernest William Lyons Holt	1888	Marine biologist and ichthyologist; his work helped lay a scientific foundation for the fishery management in Ireland
Peggie Muriel Hobson	1952 Ph.D.	Geographer
Rosemary Hutton	1948 M.A.	Geophysicist and pioneer of magnetotellurics
James Irvine	BSc	Organic chemist and principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, as a research chemist, Irvine worked on the application of methylation techniques to carbohydrates, and isolated the first methylated sugars, trimethyl and tetramethyl glucose
Francis Robert Japp	1868 M.A.	Chemist, known for discovering the Japp-Klingemann reaction
Benedict Jones	2005 PhD	Academic; research psychologist and lecturer at the University of Glasgow; studies the biological and social factors underlying face perception and preferences
John Scott Keltie		Geographer, known for his work with the Royal Geographical Society
William Elford Leach		Zoologist and marine biologist, described several species including Libinia emarginata
John Leslie	1779	Physicist and mathematician, gave the first modern description of capillary action and the artificial production of ice, developed the Leslie cube
James Bowman Lindsay	1825	Inventor, author, credited with early developments in several fields, such as incandescent lighting and telegraphy
Donald MacCrimmon MacKay	1943 BSc	Physicist	[6]
Maxwell T. Masters		Botanist and taxonomist, known for his work in vegetable teratology
George Matthew McNaughton	1916 BSc	Civil engineer, chief engineer to the Department of Health
William M'Intosh	1857	Physician, psychiatrist, marine biologist, awarded the 1924 Linnean Medal
Maureen Muggeridge		Geologist, worked mainly in diamond mining
James D. Murray	1953 BA, 1956 PhD	Academic and mathematician, worked mainly in mathematical biology, held professorships at Oxford University and the University of Washington
John Napier	1563 (did not graduate)	Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, astrologer, known for discovering logarithms, inventing Napier's bones and popularising the use of the decimal point
Mark M. Newell	1996 PhD	Academic and underwater archeologist
William Richmond		Biochemist, discovered the Richmond Test, a test for blood cholesterol levels
Catherine Steele	1925 BSc, 1928 PhD	Plant biochemist	[7]

Humanities

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Robert Balfour		Philosopher
G.W.S. Barrow		Historian and academic
Stephen Haliczer		Historian
Kieron O'Hara		Philosopher, computer scientist and political writer
Russell Kirk	1953 D.Litt.	Political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, fiction author, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism	[8]
Dominic Sandbrook		Historian and author
Lawrence Stenhouse		Educationalist
Robert Archibald Armstrong		Lexicographer	[9]
James Crichton	1574 BA M.A.	Polymath and origin of the term 'the admirable Crichton'	[10]
Michael Wesley	PhD	Academic, professor of national security at the Australian National University
Bethwell Allan Ogot	1959 M.A.	Historian and chancellor of Moi University	[11]
Adam Ferguson	1742 M.A.	Philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment; "the father of modern sociology"	[12]
Steve Boardman	1989 PhD	Medieval historian	[13]
John Craig	M.A.	Classicist, Firth Professor of Latin at the University of Sheffield
William Craigie	1888	Philologist, lexicographer	[14]
James Main Dixon	1879	Professor of English literature, author, scholar of the Scots language
John Elder		Cartographer, writer, tutor of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Duncan Forbes		Academic, linguist, translator, worked at King's College London and the British Museum, remembered for the erroneous Cox-Forbes theory
Peter Goodwin	MPhil	Maritime historian, author, former keeper and curator of HMS Victory
George Hadow	1731 M.A., 1740 MD	Professor of Hebrew and oriental languages at St Mary's College
Bonaventure Hepburn		Roman Catholic linguist, lexicographer, philologist, biblical commentator, held the post of Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts at the Vatican
Alexander Haslam	M.A.	Academic and professor of psychology at the University of Queensland
David N. Hempton	1977 PhD	Academic and historian of evangelical Protestant Christianity; dean of Harvard Divinity School; fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Robert Kirk	1664	Minister; Gaelic scholar; folklorist; known for The Secret Commonwealth, a treatise on fairy folklore, witchcraft, ghosts, and the second sight, a type of extrasensory perception described as a phenomenon by the people of the Scottish Highlands
Norman Kemp Smith	1902 PhD	Academic, philosopher; held professorships at Princeton University and Edinburgh University; known for his English translation of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Roger Lewis	1982	Academic, biographer, journalist, wrote biographies of Anthony Burgess, Peter Sellers and Laurence Olivier
William Manderstown	C. 16th century	Philosopher, Rector of the University of Paris
James Mylne		Philosopher and academic
Kieron O'Hara	M.A.	Philosopher, computer scientist, political writer and academic
Richard Oram	1983 M.A., 1988 PhD	Historian and academic
Stephen Daniels	M.A.	Professor of Cultural Geography at University of Nottingham, awarded Victoria Medal from the Royal Geographical Society, Fellow of the British Academy
Alan Stewart Duthie	1960 M.A.	Professor of Linguistics at University of Ghana. Instrumental in establishment of the study of Linguistics in Ghana. He also was a long-serving member of the translation committee of the Bible Society of Ghana.
Lucy Beall Lott	2021 M.A.	PhD student of medieval art history, activist and model with Epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica.

Nobel laureates

The Nobel Prizes are awarded each year for outstanding research, the invention of ground-breaking techniques or equipment, or outstanding contributions to society.

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
James Black	1946 MB ChB	Physician, pharmacologist; winner of 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; developed beta blockers and H2 receptor antagonists

Medicine

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Edward Jenner	1792 MD	Physician and pioneer of the smallpox vaccine	[15]
Joseph Bancroft	1859 MD	Surgeon and parasitologist, discovered filariasis
Douglas Black	1933 MB ChB	Physician and the author of the Black Report
John Garrow	MD, PhD	Honorary consultant physician, nutrition scientist, and editor of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Robert Whytt	1730 M.A., 1737 MD	Physician and president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
John Arbuthnot	1696 MD	Physician to Queen Anne, satirist, polymath, creator of the character John Bull
Patrick Abercromby	1685 MD	Physician, antiquarian, personal physician to King James VII (II of England)
George Ballingall		Physician, surgeon, regius professor of military surgery at Edinburgh University	[12]
John Barclay	B.D	Comparative anatomist, extramural teacher in anatomy, and director of the Highland Society of Scotland	[16]
Robert Batty	1797 MD	Obstetric physician and amateur artist	[17]
Golding Bird	1838 MD 1840 M.A.	Physician; authority on kidney disease; known for his work in the medical uses of electricity and electrochemistry
Charles Bisset	1766 MD	Physician and military engineer
David Bruce		Physician, an original member of the Royal Society
Elizabeth Bryson	1905 MBChB, 1907 MD	Physician and broadcaster who pioneered research on the psychosomatic approach in gynecology
Sheila Callender	1935 BSc, 1938 MBChB, 1944 MD	Physician, haematologist	[18]
John Clephane	1729 MD	Physician, military physician and correspondent of David Hume
Andrew Duncan	1762 M.A., 1769 MD	President of the Royal Medical Society and the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, founder of the first lunatic asylum in Edinburgh, Professor of Theory of Medicine at University of Edinburgh
John Eliot	1759 MD	Physician, and personal physician to George IV
Margaret Fairlie	1915 MB ChB	Physician, academic, first woman to hold a professorial chair in Scotland
John Goodsir		Anatomist and pioneer of cell biology
George Britton Halford	1854 MD	Anatomist, physiologist, founder of the first medical school in Australia, the University of Melbourne School of Medicine
John Lorimer	1764 M.D	Royal Army Surgeon, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh	[19]
James Simson	MD	Medical academic and the second Chandos Professor of Medicine and Anatomy at the University of St Andrews
John Jebb	1777 MD	Physician, divine, religious and political reformer, Fellow of Peterhouse College, Cambridge
Richard Poole	1805 MD	Physician, psychiatrist, phrenologist, editor of the New Edinburgh Review, the Phrenological Journal and Encyclopædia Edinensis
Hubert Lacey	MB ChB	Physician, psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry at St George's Medical School
John Pringle		Physician, 'father of military medicine'
Charles Rizza	1962 MD	Physician, haematologist, haemophilia expert
Stewart Duke-Elder	1919 BSc M.A. 1923 MB ChB 1925 MD	Physician, ophthalmologist and founder of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology; Surgeon-Oculist to King Edward VIII, George VI and Queen Elizabeth II; awarded the 1957 Lister Medal
Samuel Cockburn	1848 MD	Physician, homeopath, critic of the medical establishment of the time
Daniel Noble	1832 M.A. 1833 MD	Physician, known for contributions to the study of mental illness and epidemiology
John William Tripe	1846 MD	President of the Royal Meteorological Society (1871–72)	[20]
William Wright	MD 1763	President of the London Royal School of Medicine, Physician in Chief of Jamaica, the genus Wrightia (Apocynaceae) are named after him
Busick Harwood	MD 1790	Professor of Anatomy at University of Cambridge
George William Balfour	MD 1845	Honorary Physician in Ordinary to King Edward VII in Scotland.
Anthony Brownless	MD 1846	Founder of the University of Melbourne Medical School
Anthony Home	MD 1848	Scottish physician, Surgeon General of the British Army, recipient of the Victoria Cross
Benjamin Ward Richardson	MD 1854	British physician, introduced over 14 anesthetics including methylene bichloride, invented the double valve mouthpiece for administration of chloroform
Thomas Egerton Hale	MD 1855	Scottish physician, Surgeon Major of the British Army, recipient of the Victoria Cross
Douglas Argyll Robertson	MD 1857	Scottish ophthalmologist, described the Argyll Robertson pupil a sign of neurosyphilis
Pulney Andy	MD 1860	Became the first Indian to receive a British medical degree and established the National Church of India in Madras.	[21]
Andrew Logan	MB ChB 1929	Surgeon who pioneered the mechanical dilation of the mitral valve to treat mitral stenosis
John Forfar	BSc 1938, MB ChB 1941, MD 1958	Pediatrician and author of the Forfar and Arneil's Textbook of Paediatrics, awarded the Military Cross for service during the Second World War
Walter Perry	MB ChB 1943, MD 1948, DSc 1958	Dean of Medicine of the University of Edinburgh Medical School, First Vice-Chancellor of the Open University, Life Peer of the House of Lords
J. Michael Henderson	MB ChB 1969	Chief Medical Officer of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Chair of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine	[22]
Alexander Burns Wallace	PhD 1973	Plastic surgeon, co-founder and President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, founding editor of the British Journal of Plastic Surgery, developed the Wallace rule of nines, a method of determining the proportion of body affected by burns
Kim Fox	MB ChB	Diana Princess of Wales Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College School of Medicine, Editor in Chief of the European Heart Journal and President of the European Society of Cardiology	[citation needed]
Nancy Conn	MB ChB 1945	Bacteriologist known for preventing a typhoid outbreak in Edinburgh in 1970.	[23]
Narendra Patel, Baron Patel	MB ChB 1964	Obstetrician and Chancellor of the University of Dundee

Business and finance

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Alexander Balfour		Merchant and founder of the shipping company Balfour Williamson
Peter Burt		Businessman, former chief executive and later Governor of the Bank of Scotland
Archibald Constable		Publisher, bookseller and stationer; his company continues to this day as Constable & Robinson
John Cuckney		Industrialist, civil servant and peer
Henry Duncan		Minister; founder of the world's first commercial saving bank, Trustee Savings Bank
Iain Ferguson		Chief executive of Tate & Lyle; chairman
Robert Horton		Chief Executive of BP; Chancellor of the University of Kent
Andrew Mackenzie	1977 BSc	Chief Executive of BHP, the world's largest mining company
George Mathewson	1966 PhD	CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland and convener of the Council of Economic Advisers
Robert Paul Reid		Chief executive of Shell and Sears; chairman of the British Railways Board and the International Petroleum Exchange
John Rose	1975 M.A.	Businessman and CEO of Rolls-Royce
Olivier Sarkozy	M.A.	Investment banker and half brother of the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy

Government, law, and public policy

Note: Individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the first relevant section.

Politics and public affairs

Members of the Scottish Parliament

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Alex Salmond	M.A.	Former First minister of Scotland; former leader of the Scottish National Party
Marco Biagi		Politician and MSP for Edinburgh central
Marlyn Glen		Scottish Labour politician; Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland
George Reid	1962 M.A.	Politician; SNP Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire; regional MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife; Scottish Parliament's second Presiding Officer
Jamie Stone	1977 M.A.	Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, member of the Scottish Parliament for Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross
Chic Brodie	1966 BSc	Politician, MSP for South Scotland
Marlyn Glen	M.A.	Labour Party politician, MSP for North East Scotland
Gordon Jackson		Scottish Labour Party politician, lawyer, MSP for Glasgow Govan

Members of the House of Commons

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Angie Bray		Politician and MP for Ealing Central and Acton
Sir Malcolm Bruce		Politician; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats; Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats; Member of Parliament for Gordon; chairman of the International Development Select Committee
Michael Forsyth	1976	Politician; financier; Member of Parliament for Stirling; served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland
Barry Gardiner	M.A.	Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Brent North
Mark Lazarowicz	1976 M.A.	Labour Co-operative politician, Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith
John MacGregor	1959 M.A.	Member of Parliament for South Norfolk; government minister under Margaret Thatcher; Leader of the House of Commons; Lord President of the Council
Desmond Swayne		Conservative Party politician; Member of Parliament for New Forest West; Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Sir Hugo Swire		Conservative Party politician; Member of Parliament for East Devon; Minister of State for the Foreign Office
James Brodie of Brodie		Politician; botanist; MP for Elginshire; Lord Lieutenant of Nairn
Thomas Shaw	1902 L.L.D.	Liberal politician; judge; MP for Hawick Burghs; Lord Advocate
Stephen Doughty		Labour Party politician and MP for Cardiff South and Penarth
Thomas Dundas		Politician; aristocrat; MP for Richmond and Stirlingshire; remembered for commissioning the Charlotte Dundas, the world's first practical steamboat
Sir Michael Fallon	1974 M.A.	Conservative Party politician; Secretary of State for Defence; MP for Sevenoaks; deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party; Minister of State for Business and Enterprise in the Cameron ministry
Lewis Moonie	1970 MB ChB	Labour Co-operative politician, Member of Parliament for Kirkcaldy
David Carnegie		Politician, nobleman, MP for Aberdeen Burghs
John Alfred Lush	MD	Liberal Party politician, MP for Salisbury
Robert MacGregor Mitchell		Liberal Party politician; lawyer; judge; MP for Perth; Rector of the University of St Andrews

Other

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
John Sawers		British Ambassador to the UN and director of MI6
Hikmat Abu Zayd	1950 M.A.	First female member of the Cabinet of Egypt
Henry Balnaves		Politician and religious reformer
John Hamilton-Gordon		Politician, Lord lieutenant of Ireland and Governor General of Canada
Colleen Bell		United States Ambassador to Hungary
Edgar Paul Boyko		Attorney, served as Attorney General for the State of Alaska
Thomas Bruce		Nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) from the Parthenon in Athens
Eamonn Butler		Director and co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute think tank; author and broadcaster on economic and social issues
Archibald Campbell		De facto head of government in Scotland during most of the conflict known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms; major figure in the Covenanter movement
Duncan Ndegwa	M.A.	Civil servant, banker; first African governor of the Central Bank of Kenya; head of the Kenyan Civil Service	[11]
John Campbell		Liberal politician, lawyer, man of letters, Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
James Graham		Nobleman, soldier, initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed
John Graham		Soldier, nobleman, Tory, Episcopalian
John Campbell		Nobleman and the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883
Arthur Hobhouse		Local government Liberal politician; architect of the system of National parks of England and Wales
David Kurten	1993 BSc	UKIP Member of the London Assembly
James Younger		Politician and elected hereditary peer who sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords; Lord-in-waiting
Jean-Paul Marat	1775 MD	Physician, political theorist, scientist, radical journalist and politician in France during the French Revolution
Madsen Pirie	1974 PhD	Researcher, author, educator, founder and current president of the Adam Smith Institute
Lyon Playfair		Scientist and Liberal politician, held the offices of Postmaster General and Chairman of Ways and Means
Catherine Stihler	M.A.	Labour Party politician; Member of the European Parliament for Scotland; returned as the Rector of the University of St Andrews in 2014
James Wilson	1763 M.A.	Founding Father of the United States; a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence; one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States	[24]
Robert F. Thompson		Democratic member of the Arkansas Senate, represented the 11th District
Richard Arthur	1885 M.A.	Politician, social reformer, physician, Member of the Parliament of New South Wales
Alastair Balls	M.A.	Senior economic adviser to HM Treasury and chairman of the International Centre for Life
Henry Balnaves	M.A.	Politician, Lord Justice Clerk and Protestant religious reformer
David Erskine		Nobleman, eccentric, founded the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Stuart Butler	1968 BSc 1971 M.A. 1978 PhD	Director of the Center for Policy Innovation at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.; associate professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute	[25]
Pamela Chesters		Conservative politician; advisor for health and youth opportunities to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
James Hamilton	1584 BA 1585 MA	Scot who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful Protestant settlement there several years before the Plantation of Ulster
James Clinkskill		Politician and engineer, merchant, author, justice of the peace and mayor of Saskatoon
Robert Cox		Gelatine and glue manufacturer and Liberal Unionist politician
George Mackenzie		Statesman; Secretary of State; Lord Justice General
Alastair Crooke	1972 M.A.	Diplomat; founder and director of the Conflicts Forum; a figure in MI6
Kevin Dunion	1978 M.A.	Politician; first Scottish Information Commissioner; Rector of the University of St Andrews
James Glenie		Businessman and political figure in New Brunswick, represented Sunbury County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Gordon Ritchie	MB ChB	Progressive Conservative Party member of the House of Commons of Canada for Dauphin
George Turner Orton	1860 MD	Liberal-Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada for Wellington Centre
John Young Bown	1863 MD	Liberal-Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada for Brant North
Frances Josephy		Liberal Party politician, chairman of the Federal Union
Donald Luddington	1940 M.A.	Colonial government official, civil servant, Governor of the Solomon Islands and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific
David Lyndsay	1509	Lord Lyon and poet
William Maitland		Politician, reformer, Secretary of State
Douglas Mason	1963	Policymaker, author, known for his work with the Adam Smith Institute in developing the poll tax
Hugh Lyon Playfair	M.A. L.L.D.	Provost of St Andrews; officer in the Bengal Horse Artillery; prominent figure in The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
Dr. Fiona Hill (presidential advisor)	M.A.	Academic, foreign policy specialist, and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs on the United States National Security Council (2017–2019) Testified in Trump impeachment hearings.
David Holmes		American diplomat, testified in Trump impeachment hearings.

Law

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
James Dundas, Lord Arniston		Lord of Session and Shire Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament
Duncan McNeill	1809 MD	Advocate; judge; MP for Argyllshire; Lord Justice General; Lord President of the Court of Session
Ronald Mackay	M.A.	Lawyer and judge of the College of Justice, sitting in the Inner House of the Court of Session
George Dempster	1750 (did not graduate)	Advocate, landowner, agricultural improver, politician; served as MP for the Perth Burghs; founded the bank George Dempster & Co.; director of the East India Company; provost of the town of St Andrews; director of the Highland Society; key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment
William Kirk Dickson	1912 L.L.D.	Advocate; librarian; writer; Keeper of the Advocates' Library; Librarian of the National Library of Scotland
David Erskine		Judge and MP for Forfarshire
William Lamb	1520 M.A.	Cleric, lawyer, author, senator at the College of Justice
George Mackenzie	1653	Lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer	[26]
Robert Moray	C. 16th century (did not graduate)	Statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, freemason, natural philosopher, known for his role in the founding of the Royal Society

Military and national intelligence

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Anthony Dickson Home		Surgeon General of the British Army who was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour during the Indian Mutiny
Alistair Irwin		British Army officer; Adjutant-General to the Forces in the United Kingdom; Commandant of Sandhurst
Ewaryst Jakubowski	1940	Polish paratrooper; member of the Polish Army in Exile; stationed in St Andrews during World War II; attended art classes at the university; completed the Polish memorial mosaic on the town hall; parachuted into Poland as one of the Cichociemni and died in August 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising	[27]
J. M. Bruce Lockhart	1936	Deputy Director of MI6 and military attaché	[28]
Tony Mason	M.A.	Air vice-marshal in the RAF, Air Secretary
James Graham		Nobleman, poet, soldier, Captain General of Scotland.
William Gordon Rutherfurd		Commander of HMS Swiftsure at the Battle of Trafalgar
Barney White-Spunner	1981	Commander of the British Field Army	[29]
George Kennedy Young		Deputy Director of MI6 and Merchant Banker
Alex Younger		Director of MI6	[30][31]
Edward Smyth-Osbourne		Commanding Officer of the Household Division, Colonel of the Life Guards and Gold Stick in Waiting to the Queen. Honorary Colonel of the Tayforth UOTC.	[32]

Journalism and media

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
B. C. Forbes	1897	Financial journalist, author, founded Forbes magazine
Louise Minchin		Journalist and television presenter who works mainly for the BBC
Tim Samuels		Documentary filmmaker and broadcaster
Brian Taylor	1977 M.A.	Journalist and the political editor for BBC Scotland
Craig Oliver	M.A.	News editor, producer, media executive; director of communications for the former British prime minister David Cameron; former controller of English news output for BBC Global News
Judith Bumpus	1961 M.A.	Radio producer for the BBC specialising in coverage of the arts, particularly the work of visual artists	[33]
Robbie Collin	M.A.	Writer and film critic for the Daily Telegraph
Jolyon Connell	M.A.	Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times journalist, founded The Week
Margaret MacPherson	1914	Journalist, editor and writer
Chris Morgan	1976 M.Theol.	Journalist, BBC television and radio

Literature, writing, and translation

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Alistair Moffat	1972 M.A.	Writer; journalist; director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Rector of the University of St Andrews
Robert Aytoun	1588 M.A.	Poet, lawyer, court poet to the queen of King James I and VI, one of the first Scots to write in standard English
Andrew Crumey		Novelist and literary editor of the Edinburgh newspaper Scotland on Sunday
Gavin Douglas	1494	Bishop, makar and translator
William Dunbar	1479 M.A.	Poet and makar
Alexander Hume	M.A.	Poet
Robert Fergusson	1763 (did not graduate)	Poet, known for his influence on Robert Burns
Sarah Hall	M.Litt.	Novelist; poet; author of the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted The Electric Michaelangelo
Gilbert Hay		Poet and translator
James A. Michener	Research Student, Lippincott Fellowship[34]	American author. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
David Lyndsay		Lord Lyon and poet
Bruce Marshall		Fiction and nonfiction writer whose works were the subject of numerous television and film adaptations
Hilary McKay		Writer of children's books, winner of the 1992 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Alastair Reynolds	PhD	Science fiction author
William Tennant		Scholar and poet
Fay Weldon		Author, essayist and playwright whose work has been associated with feminism
Timothy Williams	1970 M.A.	Author and winner of a Crime Writers' Association award
Andrew Lang		Poet, novelist, literary critic, contributor to the field of anthropology; known as a collector of folk and fairy tales
Robert Henryson		Poet and makar
Thomas Finlayson Henderson		Historian and biographer
Helen Bannerman	1887 L.L.A.	Author of children's books; known for her first book, The Story of Little Black Sambo (1899)	[35]
John Bellenden	M.A.	Writer and translator to James V
Thomas Bowdler		Physician and philanthropist, known for publishing The Family Shakspeare, an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work
Pete Brown		Writer on beer and drinking culture around the world
James Browne	M.A.	Writer and man of letters
Patrick Brydone		Traveller and author who served as Comptroller of the Stamp Office
Thomas Craig	1555 BA	Jurist and poet
William Fowler	1578	Poet, makar, writer, courtier, and translator
James Graeme	1769 (did not graduate)	Poet
Michael Hulse	1977 M.A.	Translator, critic and poet, notable especially for his translations of German novels by W. G. Sebald
Alexander Hume	1574 BA	Poet
William Lauder	1537	Cleric, playwright, and poet
Nicholas Moore		Poet, associated with the New Apocalyptics
Julia Ember		Author, associated with The Seafarer's Kiss
Dave Duncan		Author

Entertainment

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Crispin Bonham-Carter	1992	Actor and theatre director
Dilys Breese	1954 M.A.	Natural history television producer for the BBC and an ornithologist
Michelle Duncan		Actress
Tenniel Evans		Actor
Hazel Irvine	1980	Television presenter
Siobhan Redmond		Actress
Jonathan Taylor Thomas		Actor, voice actor, former child star, teen idol, known for his role as the middle child Randy Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement
Andrew Lawrence		Comedian and winner of the 2004 BBC New Act of the Year
Denny Delk	2004 BSc	Actor, voice actor, known for providing the voice of Murray in the Monkey Island game series and a range of voices in LucasArts games	[36]
David Caves		Actor
Saba Douglas-Hamilton	1993 M.A.	Wildlife conservationist, television presenter, known for the television series The Secret Life of Elephants	[37]
Jules Knight		Actor
Ian McDiarmid		Actor, known for portraying the villain Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars film series
Abigail Thorn	2015 M.A.	Actress and YouTuber, known for the ongoing series Philosophy Tube and play The Prince

Music

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Kid Canaveral		Indie pop band
David Jackson		Progressive rock saxophonist, flutist, composer, known for his work with the band Van der Graaf Generator	[38]

Visual arts

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Thomas Rodger		Early photography pioneer
John Adamson	1843 MD	Physician and pioneer photographer
Philip Colbert		Fashion designer, artist and journalist
George Denholm Armour		Painter	[39]
Kate Holt		Photojournalist
Andrew Nairne	1983 M.A.	Curator, museum director, director of Kettle's Yard
Franki Raffles	1977 M.A.	Social documentary photographer

Religion

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
David Beaton		Archbishop of St Andrews, Chancellor of the University of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation
James Beaton	1493 M.A.	Archbishop of St Andrews, Lord Chancellor of Scotland the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, Chancellor of the University of St Andrews	[40]
Alexander Duff		Christian missionary in India, founded the Scottish Church College and played a part in establishing the University of Calcutta
Thomas Chalmers		Minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of the Free Church of Scotland
Colin Falcone		Minister and bishop
Gordon Gray		Cardinal of the Catholic Church. First Catholic priest to have graduated from the university since the reformation.
George Gillespie		Theologian
Patrick Hamilton		Churchman; early Protestant Reformer in Scotland; known for being burnt at the stake outside St Salvator's Chapel
Alexander Henderson	1603	Theologian and major figure in the development of the reformed church in Scotland
John Knox		Clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland
George Buchanan	1525 BA	Historian and humanist scholar, part of the Monarchomach movement
Andrew Melville		Scholar, theologian and religious reformer
John Munro		Presbyterian minister of Tain, in the Scottish Highlands
Sheila Watson		Cleric in the Church of England
John Witherspoon	1764 M.A. BD	Presbyterian minister; a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey; president of College of New Jersey (now Princeton University)
John Adamson	1757 M.A.	Minister and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Patrick Adamson	M.A.	Minister, divine, and Archbishop of St Andrews
Matthew Armour		Radical Free Church of Scotland minister on the island of Sanday, Orkney
Robert Arnot		Presbyterian minister; professor of divinity at St Andrews University; moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
John Munro		Presbyterian minister of Tain, in the Scottish Highlands
Klyne Snodgrass	1973 PhD	Theologian, author and professor of New Testament Studies at the North Park Theological Seminary
Victor Premasagar	PhD	Churchman, Old Testament scholar, Moderator of the Church of South India
John Barclay	1759 M.A.	Minister and founder of the Bereans	[41]
Robert Baron	1613 M.A.	Theologian and one of the Aberdeen doctors	[42]
Edward Barry	MD	Minister, popular preacher, grand chaplain to the Freemasons
Robert Blackadder	1461 M.A.	Cleric, diplomat, politician, first Archbishop of Glasgow	[43]
Hugh Blair	1577 DD	Minister of religion, author, rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse	[44]
Donald Campbell		Nobleman and abbot
Neil Campbell	1575 M.A.	Bishop of Argyll
Séon Carsuel	1544 M.A.	Prelate, humanist and Protestant reformer
William Chisholm		Bishop of Dunblane and bishop of Vaison
Sidney Clarke	1896 M.A.	Anglican RAF Chaplain and Honorary Chaplain to the King	[45]
William Couper	1583 M.A.	Bishop of Galloway and Dean of the Chapel Royal
Henry Craik		Hebraist, theologian and preacher
William Dalrymple	1779 DD	Religious writer, minister and moderator of the Church of Scotland
Robert Davidson	1945 M.A. 1952 BD	Professor of Old Testament at the University of Glasgow and was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Gavin Dunbar	1475 M.A.	Bishop of Aberdeen and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland
Andrew Durie		Bishop of Galloway and abbot of Melrose	[46]
Andrew de Durisdeer	M.A.	Bishop of Glasgow
Andrew Dutney	1985 PhD	President of the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia; professor at Flinders University
Andrew Fairfoul		First post-restoration Archbishop of Glasgow; Chancellor of Glasgow University
Colin Falconer		Minister and Bishop of Argyll; Bishop of Moray
Patrick Forbes		Churchman; theologian; Bishop of Aberdeen; chancellor of the University of Aberdeen
Robert Fleming the elder		Presbyterian Minister; following the Restoration of Charles II, he declined to accept bishops in the Kirk, and was consequently therefore ejected as Minister at Cambuslang
Alexander Forbes	1585 M.A.	Minister and Bishop of Aberdeen
Andrew Forman	1483 M.A.	Diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray, Archbishop of Bourges in France and Archbishop of St Andrews
Henry Forrest	1526 BA	Benedictine Friar who became a martyr in 1533 at St Andrews for his support of Patrick Hamilton
Peter Francis		Warden; chief librarian of St Deiniol's Library, Hawarden;chaplain of Queen Mary College, London; rector and provost of the St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow
George Gledstanes	1580 M.A.	Archbishop of St Andrews
John Gordon		Prelate, Bishop of Galloway, Abbot of Tongland
Thomas Goss	M.A.	Anglican priest; Honorary Chaplain to the Queen; Dean of Jersey
Andrew Gray	1651	Divine and author
Henry Guthrie	1621	Historian, cleric, Bishop of Dunkeld
James Guthrie	M.A.	Presbyterian minister who was exempted from the general pardon at the restoration of the monarchy and hanged in Edinburgh
John Guthrie	1597 M.A.	Prelate, Bishop of Moray
George Haliburton	1652 M.A. 1673 DD	Cleric, Jacobite, Bishop of Aberdeen
James Halyburton	1538 M.A.	Protestant reformer
Thomas Halyburton	1696 M.A.	Minister and divine
Gavin Hamilton	1584 M.A.	Minister and Bishop of Galloway
William Hamilton	1952 Th.D.	Theologian and proponent of the Death of God Movement
George Hargreaves		Minister, politician and leader of the Christian Party
George Hill	1764 M.A.	Minister of St Andrews; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; principal of St Mary's College; Dean of the Chapel Royal; Dean of the Order of the Thistle
John Lauder	1508 licentiate	Minister; Archdeacon of Tweeddale; Scotland's public accuser of heretics
James Law	1581 M.A.	Minister and Archbishop of Glasgow
Alexander Leighton	M.A.	Physician, Puritan preacher, pamphleteer, known for his 1630 pamphlet which attacked the Anglican church and led to his torture by Charles I
David Lindsay	1593 M.A.	Minister, Bishop of Edinburgh, early adopter of the Book of Common Prayer
Patrick Lindsay	1587 M.A.	Minister, Archbishop of Glasgow, excommunicated for his use of the Book of Common Prayer
Henry de Lichton	1415 licentiate	Minister, diplomat, Bishop of Glasgow, played a significant role in the rebuilding of St Machar's Cathedral
David Lindsay	C. 16th century	Minister, Bishop of Ross, and a leader of the Church in Scotland
Clair Linzey	2004 M.A. PhD	Theologian and animal ethicist	[47]
Thomas Livingston	1415 M.A.	Cleric; diplomat; delegate at the Council of Basel; advisor to James I of Scotland and James II of Scotland
Gregor MacGregor	1960	Minister, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness in the Scottish Episcopal Church	[48]
John Mantle	1973	Minister, Bishop of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church
John Maxwell	1611 M.A.	Minister, Bishop of Ross and Archbishop of Tuam
James Melville	1573	Divine and Protestant reformer
Iain McHardy	1938	Minister, Dean of Moray, Ross and Caithness in the Scottish Episcopal Church
Andrew McLellan		Minister, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
William Moodie	1775 (did not graduate)	Minister; academic; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; professor of Hebrew at Edinburgh University
Andrew McLellan		Minister; Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Jeanne Audrey Powers		Deacon, elder and leader within The United Methodist Church; vice president of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; representative to the World Council of Churches; advocate for women and LGBTQ+ people in the church	[49]
Robert Reid		Minister; Abbot of Kinloss; Bishop of Orkney; founder of the University of Edinburgh
William Turnbull	1419	Bishop of Dunkeld; Bishop of Glasgow; founder of and first chancellor the University of Glasgow
James Aitken Wylie		minister; Protestant historian; professor of theology at the Protestant Institute

Royalty and Nobility

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
William, Prince of Wales	2005	Heir apparent to the British throne. Attended as William Wales.	[50]
Catherine, Princess of Wales	2005	Wife of William, Prince of Wales. Attended under her birth name Catherine (Kate) Middleton.	[51]

Sports

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Chris Hoy	1996 (transferred to the University of Edinburgh)	Cyclist; has won world, cycling and Commonwealth competitions; most successful British Olympian in terms of gold medals
Charles B. Macdonald	1875	Major figure in the development of golf in the United States	[52]
Danny Blanchflower	1945	Northern Ireland international footballer
J.S. Thomson		Rugby union player who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match
Alfred Clunies-Ross		Rugby union player who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match
Robert Munro		Rugby union player who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match
Findlay S. Douglas	1896	Amateur golfer who won the 1898 U.S. Amateur and was president of the United States Golf Association
Damian Hopley		Rugby union player for London Wasps and England
Kim Elgie	1956	Cricketer; represented South Africa; represented Scotland in Rugby union while a student at St Andrews
Duncan Macrae	1939 MBChB	Rugby union player; represented Scotland and the British and Irish Lions	[53]
R. C. Stevenson	1911 MBChB	Rugby union player; represented Scotland and the British and Irish Lions; also played for Barbarians F.C.
Cameron Glasgow		Rugby union player, who represented Scotland, Barbarians F.C. and Heriot's Rugby Club
Tyrone Howe	1993 M.A.	Rugby union player, who represented Ulster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions

Other

Name	Year/degree	Notability	Reference
Alexander Berry	1798	Surgeon, merchant and explorer who established the town of Berry, New South Wales, Australia
Margaret C. Davidson	M.A. 1902	Modern languages teacher, suffragist, volunteer nurse at the Scottish Women's Hospital, France and Girl Guide leader from Dornoch.
John Honey		Minister; while a student at St Andrews, rescued five drowning men; commemorated in the traditional weekly 'pier walk' at the university
Elsie Howey	1902 (did not graduate)	Suffragette
Philippe Cousteau, Jr.	M.A.	Environmental conservationist; grandson of Jacques Cousteau
Fiona Hukula	Ph.D.	The first Papua New Guinean woman to obtain a PhD in social anthropology