List of athletes with advanced degrees

See also: List of artists and entertainers with advanced degrees

This is a list of athletes with advanced degrees (PhDs and other degrees at that academic level). Honorary degrees are excluded.

Research doctorate

Athlete	Degree	Field	Institution	Known for
Billy Arnold	PhD		MIAT College of Technology[1]	Racecar driver and champion of the 1930 Indianapolis 500
Dave Baldwin		Genetics	University of Arizona[2]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Travis Dorsch		Sports and exercise psychology	Purdue University	National Football League punter, triathlon professor at Utah State University
Hayley Haining		Veterinary medicine	University of Glasgow[3]	British Marathon Runner who competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Gail Hopkins		Biology	Illinois Institute of Technology	Major League Baseball player[4]
Tom House		Sports psychology	United States International University[5][6][7]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Charlotte Hym		Cognitive neuroscience and Psychology	Paris Descartes University[8]	French street skateboarder competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Charley Johnson		Chemical engineering	Washington University in St. Louis	NFL quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals and Denver Broncos
Anna Kiesenhofer		Applied mathematics[9]	Polytechnic University of Catalonia	2020 Olympic champion in the women's individual cycling road race
Vitali Klitschko		Sports science[10]	Kyiv University	World champion boxer and Ukrainian politician
Wladimir Klitschko		Sports science[11]	Kyiv University[12]	World champion heavyweight boxer
Steve Korcheck	EdD	Education	George Washington University[13]	Major League Baseball player
Lise Leveille	PhD	Neuroscience	University of British Columbia[14]	French Canadian gymnast represented at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Fletcher Low		Chemistry	Columbia University[15]	Major League Baseball player, Dartmouth College professor, New Hampshire legislator
Mike Marshall		Kinesiology[citation needed] or exercise physiology[16][17]	Michigan State University	Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher
Morris Mott		Sports history	Queen's University at Kingston[18]	National Hockey League player
Shaquille O'Neal	EdD	Education	Barry University[19][20]	National Basketball Association player
Emma Pooley	PhD	Geotechnical engineering	ETH Zurich[21]	World Champion and Olympic medal-winning cyclist and triathlete
Frank Ryan		Mathematics	Rice University[22]	National Football League quarterback
Ted Savage		Urban studies	Saint Louis University[23]	Major League Baseball player
Wally Snell		Botany	University of Wisconsin–Madison[24]	Major League Baseball catcher; Brown University professor and Athletic Director
Naoto Tobe		Sports science	University of Tsukuba[25]	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
Deng Yaping		Land economy	University of Cambridge[26]	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
Mikhail Youzhny		Philosophy	Moscow State University[27]	Tennis player
Hugues Fabrice Zango		Electrical engineering	University of Artois[28]	World champion and Olympic medalist, Burkinabé triple and long jumper
Tom Osborne		Educational psychology	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	College football player, hall of fame coach, and former politician.

Medical degree

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
Tenley Albright	MD	Medicine	Harvard Medical School[29]	Olympic and World Champion figure skater
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
Tommy Casanova	MD	Medicine	University of Cincinnati College of Medicine[43][44]	National Football League player
Elise Chabbey				Professional racing cyclist[45]
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[46]	National Basketball Association All-Star
Kevin Draxinger	MD	Medicine	University of British Columbia [47][48]	Canadian backstroke swimmer at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	MDCM		McGill University Faculty of Medicine[49]	National Football League guard, Super Bowl champion
Doc Farrell	DDS	Dental surgery	University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine[50]	Major League Baseball infielder
Simon Fraser	DO	Medicine	Ohio University Heritage School of Medicine[51]	National Football League defensive end
Moonlight Graham	MD		Baltimore Medical College[52]	Major League Baseball player whose life story was featured in the 1989 film Field of Dreams
Randy Gregg			University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry[53]	National Hockey League player
Tom Gunning			University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine[54]	Major League Baseball player
Mark Hamilton			Zucker School of Medicine[55]
Eric Heiden			Stanford University School of Medicine[56]	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[4]
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[57]	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[58]
	MD	Medicine	Yale Medical School
Ryan Kohlmeier	DDS	Dental surgery	University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Dentistry[59]	Major League Baseball player
Lise Leveille	MD	Medicine	Queen's University at Kingston[14]	French Canadian gymnast represented at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Jim Lonborg	DMD	Dental medicine	Tufts University School of Dental Medicine[60]	Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher
Joel Makovicka	DPT	Physical therapy	Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions[61]	National Football League player
Justin Maxwell	DDS	Dental surgery	University of Maryland School of Dentistry[62]	Major League Baseball outfielder
Doc McMahon	DMD	Dental medicine	Tufts University School of Dental Medicine[63]	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[64]	National Basketball Association player
Bill McColl	MD	Medicine, neurosurgery	Pritzker School of Medicine[65]	National Football League player, missionary, father of Milt McColl
Milt McColl		Medicine	Stanford University School of Medicine[66][67]	National Football League player, son of Bill McColl
Nadia Nadim		Medicine	Aarhus University[68]	National Women's Soccer League and Denmark Women's National Football Team player
Jack Nichols	DMD	Dental medicine	Tufts University School of Dental Medicine[69]	National Basketball Association player
Rich Nye	DVM	Veterinary medicine	University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine[70]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Dip Orange	MD	Medicine	Meharry Medical College[71][72]	Negro National League baseball player
Charlie Pechous			Stritch School of Medicine[73]	Major League Baseball player
Arlie Pond			University of Vermont College of Medicine[74]
Bob Poser			University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health[75][76]
Joannie Rochette			McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences[77]	Olympic medal-winning figure skater
Myron Rolle			Florida State University College of Medicine[78][79]	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[80]	Olympic rower
Ad Swigler	DDS	Dental surgery	University of Pennsylvania Dental School[81]	Major League Baseball player
Ron Taylor	MD	Medicine	University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine[82]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Henry Thielman	DDS	Dental surgery	University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine[30]
Debi Thomas	MD	Medicine	Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine[83]	Olympic medalist and World Champion figure skater
Jenny Thompson			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[84]
Walt Whittaker	DMD	Dental medicine	Tufts University School of Dental Medicine[41][85]
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

Other professional doctorates

In some countries, the Juris Doctor is the standard professional degree required to practice law, although the holder is usually not addressed as "doctor".

Athlete	Degree	Field	Institution	Known for
Terry Baker	JD	Law	USC Gould School of Law[86][87]	National Football League quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner
Cliff Brantley			Rutgers Law School[88][89]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Bill Bray			William & Mary Law School[90]
Nick Buoniconti			Suffolk University Law School[91]	National Football League linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer
Chris Carr			George Washington University Law School[92]	National Football League cornerback and kick returner
Donn Clendenon			Duquesne University School of Law[93]	Major League Baseball player and 1969 World Series MVP
Cris Collinsworth			University of Cincinnati School of Law[94]	Sportscaster and former National Football League wide receiver
Ben Hayes			University of Florida College of Law[95]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Jarett Dillard			South Texas College of Law[96]	National Football League wide receiver
Len Elmore			Harvard Law School[97]	National Basketball Association player
Katherine Grainger			King's College London[98]	British former rower and current Chair of UK Sport. Summer Olympics gold and silver medallist as well World champion.
Joe Hietpas			Washington University School of Law[99]	Major League Baseball catcher
Billy Hunter			UC Berkeley School of Law[100]	National Football League wide receiver, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association
Tony La Russa			Florida State University College of Law	Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame manager[101]
Ed Lynch			University of Miami School of Law[102]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Martin Mayhew			Georgetown University Law Center[103]	National Football League player and executive
Jim McFarland			Cornell Law School[104]	National Football League player, member of the Nebraska Legislature
Gerry Meehan			University at Buffalo Law School[105]	National Hockey League player and executive
Alan Page			University of Minnesota Law School[106]	National Football League player, member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Bill Perkins			Seton Hall University School of Law[107]	National Football League player
Billy Rohr			Western State College of Law[108]	Major League Baseball pitcher
Robert R. Thomas			Loyola University Chicago School of Law[109]	National Football League player, Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
Byron White			Yale Law School[110]	National Football League player, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Dwayne Woodruff			Duquesne University School of Law[111]	National Football League player, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania judge
Steve Young			J. Reuben Clark Law School[112]	National Football League quarterback, member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame

Incomplete or revoked doctorates

Person	Degree	Field	Institution	Known for	Notes
Nadine Apetz	PhD	Neuroscience	University Hospital Cologne	German amateur boxer	Studying as of 2016[113]
Pau Gasol	MD	Medicine	University of Barcelona	Professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague	Dropped out[114]
Hadia Hosny	PhD	Pharmacology	Cairo University	Egyptian Olympic badminton player	Studying as of 2015[115]
Hui Ruoqi	PhD	Physical education	Nanjing Normal University	Chinese volleyball player	Studying as of 2017[116]
Pál Schmitt	PhD	Physical education	Semmelweis University	Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician	Revoked[117]
Louise Shanahan	PhD	Quantum physics	Cambridge University	Irish Olympic athlete	Studying as of 2019[118]
Chris Spence	EdD	Education	University of Toronto	Canadian Football League player	Revoked[119][120][121]
Shao Ting	PhD	Education	Beijing Normal University	Chinese basketball player for the Beijing Great Wall and the Chinese national team	Studying as of 2019[122]
Veronica Toro Arana	MD	Medicine	Stanford University School of Medicine	Puerto Rican Olympic rower	Studying as of 2016[123]
Sun Yang	PhD	Kinesiology	Shanghai University of Sport	Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer.	Studying as of 2018[124]