List of Durham University people

• 
  Jas Pal Badyal, Professor of Chemistry
• 
  John D. Barrow, Cosmologist and Templeton Prize winner
• 
  Richard Ellis, Professor of Astrophysics at UCL
• 
  Octavius Pickard-Cambridge, Church of England priest and noted Arachnologist
• 
  Frank Kelly, Mathematician and former Master of Christ's College, Cambridge

• Ephraim Anderson (College of Medicine) – bacteriologist, best known for his work highlighting the human health dangers of drug-resistant bacteria created by antibiotics[4]
• Jas Pal Badyal - Professor of Chemistry at Durham University; Edward Harrison Memorial Prize (1993)[5]
• Francis Arthur Bainbridge – Professor of Physiology at Durham University (2011–2015), later chair of physiology at St. Bartholomew's Hospital[6]
• John Barrow (Van Mildert) – Gresham Professor of Geometry (2008–2011); Templeton Prize (2006)[7]
• Neil Bartlett (King's) – chemist best known for his discovery of noble gas compounds[8]
• Julian Besag – Professor of Mathematics at Durham University; Guy Medal (1983)[9]
• Martin Bott – Emeritus Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences; Wollaston Medal (1992)[10]
• George Stewardson Brady (College of Medicine) – Professor of Natural History at the Hancock Museum (1875–1906)[11]
• George Malcolm Brown (Castle) – Director of the British Geological Survey; Murchison Medal (1981)[12]
• Richard Christopher Carrington – "Observer" at Durham University Observatory (1849–1852)[13][14]
• Ed Corrigan – Professor of Mathematics at the University of York, Principal of Collingwood College (2008–11)[15]
• Kingsley Charles Dunham (Hatfield) – Director of the British Geological Survey; winner of the Wollaston Medal[16][17]
• George Efstathiou – Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University (1988–1997)[18]
• Richard Ellis – Professor of Astronomy at UCL; Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (2011)[19]
• Keith Ellis – Professor of Physics at Durham University; Dirac Medal of the IOP (2019)
• James Feast – President of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2006–08), Royal Medal (2007)[20]
• Carlos Frenk - Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics at Durham University[21]
• William Greenwell (Castle) – archaeologist, canon at Durham Cathedral[22]
• Harold Jeffreys (Armstrong) – Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge University (1946–1958)[23]
• James Finlay Weir Johnston – Professor in Chemistry and Mineralogy, first Durham FRS (elected 1837)[24]
• Nigel Glover (Hatfield) – Professor of Physics at Durham University[25]
• Alexander Stewart Herschel – First professor of Physics at the College of Physical Sciences[26]
• Judith Howard – Professor of Chemistry at Durham University[5]
• Jeremy Hutson – Professor of Physics and Chemistry at Durham University[5]
• Frank Kelly (Van Mildert) – Professor of the Mathematics of Systems in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge; Master of Christ's College, Cambridge since 2006[27]
• John Lawton – RSPB Vice President; previously head of Natural Environment Research Council; the last chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution[28]
• Tom McLeish – Chair of Natural Philosophy at the University of York[29]
• Alan Martin – former Head of the Physics Department at Durham; Max Born Prize (2007)[30]
• Friedrich Paneth – Professor of Chemistry at Durham, 1939–1953[31]
• David Parker – Professor of Chemistry at Durham (1992–); twice Head of Department[32]
• Octavius Pickard-Cambridge (Castle) – Clergyman and arachnologist[33]
• Roger Powell – Emeritus Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne[34]
• George Rochester (Armstrong) – British physicist known for having co-discovered, with Sir Clifford Butler, a subatomic particle called the kaon[35]
• Joseph Stoddart - Consultant anaesthetist at Royal Victoria Infirmary who played a large role in the development of Intensive Care in the UK
• Charles Thorp – Warden of the University[36]
• Samuel Tolansky (Armstrong) – Professor of Physics at Royal Holloway College (1947–1973)[37]
• Lawrence Wager – Professor of Geology at Durham University[38]
• Richard S. Ward – Professor of Theoretical Physics at Durham University[39]
• Arnold Wolfendale – Emeritus Professor of Physics at Durham University; Astronomer Royal (1991–1995)[40]

Leslie Peter Wenham, specialist in Roman Archaeology

• John Atkinson (Hatfield) – Emeritus Professor of Classics at University of Cape Town
• Eric Birley – Master of Hatfield College (1949–1956)[41]
• David Breeze (Castle) – Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Historic Scotland (1989–2005)[42]
• Martin Carver – Professor of Archaeology at the University of York[43]
• Robin Coningham – Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology; UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage
• Brian Dobson (Hatfield) – Reader Emeritus of Durham University; President of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle[44]
• Alan Greaves (Grey) – Lecturer in Archaeology at University of Liverpool[45]
• Birgitta Hoffmann (Ustinov) – Director of the Roman Gask Project[46]
• Charlotte Roberts - Professor of Archaeology at Durham University (since 2004)[47]
• Malcolm Todd – Principal of Trevelyan College (1996–2000)[48]
• Leslie Peter Wenham – Head of History at St. John's College, York[49]
• Tony Wilkinson – Professor of Archaeology (2006–2014)[50]

Jack Ogden, historian of jewellery

James Holland, author and broadcaster

Liz James, art historian

• Michael Aris (Cuths) – Author on Bhutanese, Tibetan and Himalayan culture and Buddhism; Lecturer in Asian history at St John's College, Oxford and later at St Antony's College, Oxford[51]
• Jeremy Black – Professor of History at the University of Exeter[52]
• Richard Britnell – Emeritus Professor of History at Durham University[53]
• Bertram Colgrave (Hatfield) – Reader in English at Durham University; Editor of Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile[54]
• Anthony Crichton-Stuart (St Chad's) – Head of Old Master Paintings at Christie's, New York
• Robin Donkin (King's) – Reader in Historical Geography in Cambridge University[55]
• Jo Fox – Director of the Institute of Historical Research[56]
• David Gaimster – Director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum[57]
• Roy Martin Haines (St Chad's) – Professor of Medieval History at Dalhousie University[58]
• James Holland (St Chad's) – Popular historian, author of books on World War II
• Jean Hood – Author of maritime history
• Liz James (Van Mildert) – Professor of the History of Art at the University of Sussex
• Judith Jesch (St Aidan's) – Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham
• Clifford Kinvig (Cuths) – Senior Lecturer in War Studies at RMA Sandhurst[59]
• Deborah Lavin – Principal of Trevelyan College (1979–95)[60]
• Dominic Montserrat (Grey) - British egyptologist and papyrologist[61]
• Jack Ogden – Visiting Professor of Ancient Jewellery, Material and Technology at Birmingham City University; President of the Society of Jewellery Historians (since 2018)
• George Ornsby (Castle) – Antiquarian; editor with the Surtees Society
• David Reeder (Hatfield) – Lecturer in Urban History, University of Leicester[62]
• Nicholas Reeves (Van Mildert) – Egyptologist; Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project (1998–2002)[63]
• Alec Ryrie – Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University; Gresham Professor of Divinity
• Alan Schom (Hatfield) – Biographer of Napoleon and Napoleon III
• Peter Snowdon (Castle) – specialist in contemporary British political history; contributor to Parliamentary Brief
• Joanna Story (Trevs) – Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Leiecester
• Michael Swanton – Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at Exeter University
• George Macaulay Trevelyan – Chancellor of Durham University (1950–57)[64]
• Andy Wood, Professor of Social History at Durham University
• Benjamin Woolley (Cuths) – historian and biographer
• Julian Wright – Professor of History at Northumbria University; co-editor of French History

Arthur Holmes, Head of Geology (1924–1942)

Peter Liss, environmental scientist at University of East Anglia

• John Anthony Allan (Castle) – Professor in Geography at King's College, London; Stockholm Water Prize (2008)
• Ash Amin – Professor of Geography at Cambridge University
• Gerald Blake – Geographer and Principal of Collingwood College (1987–2001)
• Andrew Blowers (Hatfield) – Geographer known for his work on nuclear waste management
• Mike Crang – Professor of Cultural Geography at Durham University
• Sarah Curtis – Professor of Health and Risk at Durham University[65]
• Ghazi Falah (Hild Bede) – Geographer at University of Akron
• Paul Lewis Hancock (Castle) – Editor of Journal of Structural Geology
• Peter Liss (Castle) – Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of East Anglia[66]
• David Harper – Professor of Palaeontology in Earth Sciences; Principal of Van Mildert College (2011–present)
• Arthur Holmes – Chair of Geology at the University of Edinburgh; Vetlesen Prize (1964)
• Ray Hudson – Lecturer in Geography; Director of the Wolfson Research Institute (2003-2007)
• Malcolm K. Hughes (Castle) – Regents' Professor of Dendrochronology at the University of Arizona; co-producer of the Hockey stick graph
• Basil Charles King (Hatfield) – Professor of Geology at Bedford College; Bigsby Medal (1959)[67]
• Stewart McPherson – TV presenter and conservationist; David Given Award for Excellence in Plant Conservation (2012)
• Frank Pasquill (Castle) – Deputy Chief Scientific Officer at the Met Office
• David Sadler (Castle) – Professor of Human Geography at the University of Liverpool
• David Vaughan (Hatfield) - Scientist at British Antarctic Survey; Lead Author of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

Mikhail Epstein, Russian literary theorist

Malcolm Guite, poet

• Kenneth Allott (Armstrong) – Kenneth Muir Professor of English at Liverpool University
• Thomas Blackburn (Hatfield) – Lecturer at College of St. Mark and St. John[68]
• Philip Bullock – Professor of Russian Literature and Music at the University of Oxford[69]
• Seán Burke – Reader in English at Durham University
• Paul Edwards (Hatfield) – Professor of English and African Literature at the University of Edinburgh[70]
• Mikhail Epstein – Anglo-American and Russian literary theorist; Director of the Centre for Humanities Innovation at Durham University
• Ruth Etchells – Principal of St John's College, Durham (1979–88)[71]
• Gary Ferguson (St Chad's) – Douglas Huntly Gordon Distinguished Professor of French at the University of Virginia[72]
• Clifford Nelson Fyle (Hatfield) - Sierra Leonean Professor of English; wrote lyrics to the Sierra Leone National Anthem
• Eldred D. Jones – literary critic from Sierra Leone
• Malcolm Guite – author, poet (Sounding the Seasons, The Singing Bowl), priest, and singer-songwriter; current Bye-Fellow and Chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge[73]
• Maebh Long – Irish academic, known for writings on the novelist and playwright Brian O'Nolan
• Margaret Masson – Lecturer in English, Principal of St Chad's College (2016–present)
• Patrick O'Meara – Professor of Russian and Russian history; Master of Van Mildert College (2004–11)[74]
• Ann Moss – Professor of French at Durham University (1996–2003)
• Harold Orton (Hatfield) – Professor of English Language and Medieval English Literature, University of Leeds (1946–64)[75]
• Ida C. Ward (St Mary's) – Professor of Linguistics, known for work on African languages

Jacqui Cole, Head of Molecular Engineering at the Cavendish Laboratory

Ben Moore, Astrophysicist

Flora Murray, suffragist doctor, founder of Women's Hospital for Children

Ruth Nicholson, obstetrician and gynaecologist

• Cyril Clifford Addison (Hatfield) – Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at University of Nottingham (1960–78)[76]
• Richard Arculus (Hatfield) – Professor in School of Earth Sciences at Australian National University
• David Axon (Hatfield) – Professor at the University of Hertfordshire and Rochester Institute of Technology
• Gilbert Ronald Bainbridge (Hatfield) – Wolfson Professor of Energy Studies at Newcastle University
• David Barker – zoologist and neurologist, professor emeritus of zoology
• David Bellamy – botanist and environmental campaigner
• Kathleen Bever Blackburn (Armstrong) – botanist[77]
• William Campbell (College of Science) – metallographer to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
• Martyn Chamberlain – Emeritus Professor of Physics at Durham University; Master of Grey College (2003–2011)[78]
• Temple Chevallier – clergyman, astronomer, and mathematician, founding director of Durham University Observatory
• Geoffrey Coates – Head of the Chemistry Department at Durham University (1953–1968)
• Jacqui Cole – Head of Molecular Engineering at Cavendish Laboratory[79]
• Roger Davies – Philip Wetton Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University; President of the Royal Astronomical Society (2010–2012)[80]
• John Frederick Dewey – Professor of Geology at Oxford University (1986–2000)
• H. Martyn Evans – Professor in Humanities in Medicine at Durham University; Principal of Trevelyan College (2008–2019)
• Ian Fells – Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at Newcastle University, Michael Faraday Prize (1993)
• Andrew Fisher – Professor of Physics at University College London
• Gillian Foulger (Unattached) – Professor of Geophysics at Durham University; Price Medal (2005)[81]
• David Gavaghan (Grey) – Professor of Computational Biology at University of Oxford[82]
• Rebecca Goss (Hatfield) – Professor of Organic Chemistry at University of St. Andrews[83]
• Monica Grady (St Aidan's) – Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University
• Ruth Gregory – Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Durham University
• Hans Kronberger – Scientist-in-Chief of the Reactor Group at UKAEA (1962–1969); Leverhulme Medal (1969)
• Peter Kyberd (Hatfield) – Head of the School of Energy and Electrical Engineering at Portsmouth University[84]
• Marie Lebour – marine biologist
• Gordon Manley – Professor of Geography at Bedford College (1948–1964); President of the Royal Meteorological Society (1945–1947)
• Nigel Martin – Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Durham University; Principal of Trevelyan College (2000–2008)[85]
• Rachel McKendry (Trevs) – Professor at London Centre for Nanotechnology
• M. A. Wazed Miah – Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (–1999)
• Ben Moore – Director of the Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Zürich; Philip Leverhulme Prize (2001)
• Flora Murray, doctor and suffragist – founder of Women's Hospital for Children
• Ruth Nicholson – obstetrician and gynaecologist
• Thomas Horrocks Openshaw – Victorian surgeon and recipient of a Jack the Ripper letter
• Simon Parson – Regius Professor of Anatomy at University of Aberdeen (since 2018); President of the Anatomical Society (since 2019)[86]
• A. W. Pryor – Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics; David Syme Research Prize (1964)
• Caleb Scharf – Director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center at Columbia University[87]
• Joe Smartt (Hatfield) – Reader in Biology at Southampton University (1990–1996)
• Mark A. Smith (Hatfield) – Professor of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University[88]
• Paul Sutcliffe – Professor of Theoretical Physics at Durham University; Whitehead Prize (2006)[89]
• Sarah Thompson – Head of Physics Department at the University of York[90]
• John Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant – former President of British Medical Association, General Medical Council and the Royal Society of Medicine
• Stan Woodell (Hatfield) – Lecturer in Botany at Oxford University (1959–1988); Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford (1989–2004)

Andrew Gamble, Professor of Politics at Cambridge University

• Ewan Anderson – Emeritus Professor of Geopolitics at Durham
• Alexander Betts - Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at University of Oxford
• Luiza Bialasiewicz – Jean Monnet Professor of EU External Relations at the University of Amsterdam
• Thom Brooks – Professor of Law and Government; Dean of Durham Law School
• Neil Carter (Hatfield) – Professor of Politics at the University of York[91]
• Anoush Ehteshami – Professor and Joint Director of the ESRC Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, Durham
• Anthony Forster – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex[92]
• Andrew Gamble – Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield (1986–2007)
• Mark N. Katz – Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University; William Luce Fellow (April–June 2018)
• Eduardo Mendieta – Professor at Penn State University; former fellow at Institute of Advanced Study
• Roger Scully – Professor of Political Science at Cardiff University
• Steven B. Smith (Cuths) – Professor of Political Science at Yale University; Master of Branford College (1996-2011)[93]
• Gareth Stansfield (Hatfield) – Professor of Middle East Studies at University of Exeter[94]
• Suha Taji-Farouki – Lecturer in Modern Islam at University of Exeter
• Giles Ji Ungpakorn – Thai dissident; Professor of Political Science at International University of Humanities and Social Sciences (Costa Rica)

Douglas Davies, Professor in the Study of Religion; notable for his work on ritual and mortality

• Lewis Ayres – Professor of Catholic and Historical Theology at Durham University; Bede Chair of Catholic Theology (2009–2013)
• Charles Kingsley Barrett – Professor of Divinity at Durham University (1958–1982)
• Stephen R. L. Clark – Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Liverpool
• Dan Cohn-Sherbok – Emeritus Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales
• David E. Cooper – Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Durham University[95]
• Douglas Davies (St John's) – Professor in the Study of Religion at Durham[96]
• James Dunn – Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University (1990–2003)
• Christopher Evans – Lightfoot Professor of Divinity (1959–1962)
• Stanley Eveling – Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University
• Simon J. Gathercole (Hatfield) – Reader in New Testament Studies and Director of Studies at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge[97]
• David Jasper (Hatfield and St Chad's) – Professor of Theology and Literature at the University of Glasgow
• R. W. L. Moberly – Professor of Theology and Biblical Interpretation at Durham University
• Tim Crane - Former Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge

Robert Hugh Layton, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology

• Gëzim Alpion – Lecturer in Sociology at University of Birmingham
• Robert Burgess (Bede) – President of the British Sociological Association (1989–1991)
• Stanley Cohen – Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics
• Iain R. Edgar – Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Durham University
• Robert Hugh Layton – Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Durham University
• Tariq Modood (Cuths) – Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at the University of Bristol (1997-); co-founder of the journal Ethnicities
• Henrietta Moore (Trevs) – William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology (2008-2014)
• Caroline Moser – Emeritus Professor of Urban Development at University of Manchester; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution (2004–2007)
• Sue Scott – Visiting Professor at the University of Newcastle; President of the British Sociological Association (2007–2009)
• Ian Taylor (Hatfield) – Professor of Sociology at Salford University (1989–1998); Principal of Van Mildert College (1999–2000)
• Alan Warde – Professor of Sociology at Manchester University (1999-)
• Frank Webster (Cuths) – Head of the Department of Sociology at City University London (2008–2012); Theories of the Information Society (1995)

Richard Ovenden, Bodley's Librarian at Oxford University

Peter Ustinov, Chancellor (1992–2004), and for whom Ustinov College is named

• Michael Alcorn – Director of the School of Music and Sonic Arts at Queen's University, Belfast
• Robert Allison – Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University from 2012[98]
• Roy Ascott (King's) – Founder and President of the Planetary Collegium at Plymouth University (2003–present)
• Joan Bernard – Principal of Trevelyan College (1966–1978)
• Tim Blackman – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Middlesex[99]
• Philip Booth (Hatfield) – Senior Academic Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs
• Ernest Bullock – Gardiner Professor of Music at the University of Glasgow and Principal of the Scottish National Academy of Music (1941–1952); Director of the Royal College of Music (1953–1960)
• Kenneth Calman – Vice-Chancellor of Durham University (1998–2006); Chancellor of the University of Glasgow (2006–present)
• Gordon Cameron (Hatfield) – Professor of Land Economy at Cambridge University; Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (1988–1990)[100]
• Anne Campbell – Professor of Psychology at Durham University
• John Casken – Professor of Music at the University of Manchester (1992–2008)
• Joe Elliott – Principal of Collingwood College (2011–present) and Professor of Education at Durham (2004–present)
• Peter Evans (Cuths) – Professor of Music at Southampton University (1961–1990)[101]
• Robert Michael Franklin, Jr. – President of Morehouse College (2007–2012)
• David Grant – Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University (2001–2012)
• William Edmund Hick – President of the Experimental Psychology Society (1958–1959)
• Chris Higgins (Grey) – Vice Chancellor of Durham University (2007–2014)
• George Wilberforce Kakoma – Professor of music, composer of Uganda's national anthem
• Richard Ovenden (St Chad's) – Deputy Director and Head of Special Collections at the Bodleian Library[102]
• Hugh Pearman (St Chad's) – architecture and design critic of The Sunday Times (1986–2016)[103]
• Frank Rhodes, President of Cornell University (1977–1995)[104]
• Akilagpa Sawyerr – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana (1985–1992)
• Peter Ustinov – Chancellor of the University of Durham (1992–2004)
• Paul Wellings – Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University (2002–2012)
• Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock (Hatfield) – Ecologist; contributor to the Journal of Ecology
• Ted Wragg (Hatfield) – Professor of Education at the University of Exeter (1978–2003)[105]
• Zu'bi M.F. Al-Zu'bi (Ustinov) - Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Jordan (2013–2017); Director of Development at the University of Sydney

• David George Maddison (Grey) – Justice of the High Court (Queens Bench Division)[115]
• Andrew McFarlane (Collingood) – High Court Judge, Lord Justice of Appeal[116]
• Caroline Swift (St Aidan's) – leading counsel to the Inquiry in the Shipman Inquiry and Justice of the High Court (Queens Bench Division)[117]
• Mark Waller – former Lord Justice of Appeal and Vice-President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
• Finola O'Farrell – Justice of the High Court (Queens Bench Division)

• Charles Ernest St. John Branch – Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and 23rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
• James Goss (Castle) – Justice of the High Court (Queens Bench Division)
• Henry M. Joko-Smart – Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
• Kobina Arku Korsah – Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and 1st Chief Justice of Ghana
• George Lamptey – Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
• Koi Larbi – Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
• Robert Strother Stewart (Hatfield & Armstrong) – Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast Colony and Member of the West African Court of Appeal

• Deryck Beyleveld – founding Director of the Sheffield Institute of Biotechnological Law and Ethics; former Head of Durham Law School
• Thom Brooks – Professor of Law and Government; Head of Durham Law School
• Leo Blair (Cuths) – barrister, former Reader in Law and father of Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of United Kingdom)
• David Campbell – former Head of the Law Department and specialist in contract law
• Jolyon Maugham (Hatfield) – QC at Devereux Chambers
• David O'Keeffe – Professor of European Law

Current members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

Current members of the Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom

Excluding current members of the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet, who are listed above, and former MPs who went on to be members of the House of Lords, who are listed below

Graham Brady, Chairman of 1922 Committee

Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools

Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough and Horncastle (1993–1997) and Gainsborough (1997 – present)

Edward Shortt, Home Secretary (1919–1922) and Chief Secretary for Ireland (1918–1919)

• Heidi Alexander (Grey) – Labour MP for Lewisham East (2010–2018), Shadow Secretary of State for Health[142] (2015–2016), Deputy Mayor of London (2018–present)
• David Anderson – Labour MP for Blaydon[143] (2005–2017),[144] Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland[145] (2016–2017)
• Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge – Liberal MP for Gainsborough (1895–1900)
• Crispin Blunt (Castle) – Conservative MP for Reigate (1997 – present) and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice[146]
• James Boyden – Labour MP for Bishop Auckland (1959–1979)
• Graham Brady (St Aidan's) – Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West (1997–present); Chairman of 1922 Committee
• Jenny Chapman – Labour Darlington (2010 – present)
• John Robert Davison QC – Liberal MP for the City of Durham (1868–1871)
• Jackie Doyle-Price (Castle) – Conservative, Thurrock (2010 – present)
• Bill Etherington – Labour MP for Sunderland North (1992–2010)
• Ben Everitt – Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North (2019 – present)
• Nick Gibb (Hild Bede) – Conservative MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (1997 – present), Minister of State for Schools
• Paul Goggins (Ushaw) – Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East (1997–2014)
• Jane Griffiths (St Mary's) – linguist and Labour MP for Reading East (1997–2005)
• Mark Hughes (politician) (King's) – Labour MP for Durham (1970–1983) then City of Durham (1983–1987)[147]
• Sarah Jones – Labour MP for Croydon Central (2017–present)
• Peter Kilfoyle – Labour MP for Liverpool Walton (1991–2010)
• Sir Edward Leigh (Castle) – Conservative MP for Gainsborough and Horncastle (1993–1997) and Gainsborough (1997 – present); Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee
• Malcolm MacDonald – National Labour cabinet minister, Governor-General of Malaya, Governor-General of Kenya, chancellor of Durham University; Labour MP for Bassetlaw (1929–1931), National Labour MP for Bassetlaw (1931–1935) and Ross and Cromarty (1936–1945)
• David Mackintosh – Conservative MP for Northampton South (2015–2017)[148]
• Shona McIsaac (St Aidan's) – Labour MP for Cleethorpes (1997–2010)[149]
• Piers Merchant (Castle) – Conservative MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (1983–1987) and Beckenham (1992–1997), JCR "Senior Man"[150] and President of Durham University Conservative Association
• Sir Alan Meale – Labour, Mansfield (1987–2017)[151]
• Sir Fergus Montgomery (Bede) – Conservative MP Newcastle upon Tyne East (1959–1964), Brierley Hill (1967–1974) and Altrincham and Sale (1974–1997), aide to Margaret Thatcher
• Mo Mowlam (Trevs) – Labour cabinet minister, MP for Redcar (1987–2001)
• Oswald O'Brien (Cuths) – Labour MP for Darlington (1983)
• John Pugh (Cuths) – Liberal Democrat MP for Southport (2001–2017)[152]
• Nathan Raw (1866–1940) – Conservative MP for Liverpool Wavertree (1918–1922)
• Edward Shortt – Home Secretary (1919–1922) and Chief Secretary for Ireland (1918–1919); Liberal MP for Newcastle upon Tyne (1910–1918) and Newcastle upon Tyne West (1918–1922)
• David Simmonds – Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (2019 – present)
• Sir John Sinclair, 3rd Baronet (1825–1912) – Liberal Member of Parliament for Caithness (1869–1885)
• Rachel Squire (Trevs) – Labour MP for Dunfermline West (1992–2005)
• Thomas Charles Thompson (Castle) – Liberal MP for the City of Durham (1874 & 1880 – 1885)
• Edward Timpson – Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich (2008–2017)[153]
• Henry Villiers-Stuart (1827–1895; Castle) – Soldier, clergyman, author and Liberal Member of Parliament for County Waterford (1873 – 1874 & 1880 – 1885)[154]
• James Wharton (Castle) – Conservative MP for Stockton South (2010–2017)[155][156]
• Jenny Willott (St Mary's) – Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central (2005–2015), junior whip from 2012[157]
• Esmond Wright – Conservative MP for Glasgow Pollok (1967–1970), historian and Director of the Institute of United States Studies

Viscount Knutsford, former Secretary of State for the Colonies

Charles Colville, 5th Viscount Colville of Culross, Crossbench member of the House of Lords

For Lord Bishops see under "Religion" below.

• Charles Colville, 5th Viscount Colville of Culross (St Chads) – Crossbencher
• Jack Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling (Bede) – former Labour Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster[158]
• Jack Dormand, Baron Dormand of Easington (Bede) – British educationist, former Government whip and Parliamentary Labour Party chair
• Oliver Eden, 8th Baron Henley (Collingwood) – Conservative spokesman on Constitutional and Legal Affairs in the House of Lords
• Dianne Hayter, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Trevs) – Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town; former General Secretary of the Fabian Society; former chair of the Labour Party[159]
• Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford – Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1887–1892
• Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling (King's) – former Conservative MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale
• Herbert Laming, Baron Laming – Convenor of the Crossbench Peers
• Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough – former MP
• Sally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Huyton (Van Mildert) – British Labour Party politician, former Minister of State for Women and Board Member of the Olympic Delivery Authority
• Fred Peart, Baron Peart (Bede) – former Labour Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords; Member of Parliament for Workington (1945–1976)
• Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland – 19th-century MP, Chancellor of Durham University
• Joyce Quin, Baroness Quin – former tutor at Durham University
• Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk – former professor at Durham University
• John Sewel, Baron Sewel – former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
• Maeve Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock (St Chads) – Honorary Fellow of St Chad's; former Chief Executive of the Refugee Council and policy advisor to Gordon Brown
• Edward Short, Baron Glenamara (Bede) – former Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council; Labour Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (1951–1976)
• Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry – former Conservative MP, Chancellor of Durham University

• Alexandra Phillips – Brexit Party MEP for South East England
• Jake Pugh (Hatfield) – Brexit Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber

• Nick Ramsay (St Johns) – Conservative Assembly Member for Monmouth (2007 – present); Shadow Finance Minister

John Douglas, 7th Premier of Queensland

Kumar Iyer, Chief Economist at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Tracy Philipps, Secretary-General of the IUCN

Nigel Phillips, Governor of the Falkland Islands

• Crispin Curtis Adeniyi-Jones – President of the Nigerian National Democratic Party; member of the legislative council of Nigeria, 1923–1938
• Rodney Atkinson (Collingwood, Management, 1978) – eurosceptic campaigner and economist
• Andrew Brear – former soldier and security official[188]
• Charles Bruzon (Ushaw) – Gibraltarian government minister and curate[189]
• John Douglas – Premier of Queensland[190]
• Ruth First – anti-apartheid activist assassinated by the South African security services
• Kinfe Gebremedhin (Hatfield) – assassinated Ethiopian Chief of Security
• George Gretton (Hatfield) – Commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission
• Kerryann Ifill (Durham Business School) – President of the Senate of Barbados since 2012 (first woman and first person with a disability to hold that position)
• Sir Cadwaladr Bryner Jones – Welsh Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture
• Phyllis Kandie – Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, appointed 25 April 2013
• Norman Lacy (Durham Business School) – Australian politician[191]
• Eduardo J. Lopez-Reyes (Ustinov; School of Government and International Affairs) – National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, United States[192]
• Maszlee Malik – Malaysian Minister of Education[193]
• Sir Milton Margai – first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone
• Steven Marshall – leader of the Liberal Party in South Australia; elected member for Norwood, South Australia; Shadow Minister for Industry and Trade, Defence Industries, Small Business, Science and Information Economy, Environment and Conservation and Sustainability and Climate Change
• Nigel Morgan – security consultant with ties to South African Secret Service; known for involvement in the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt[194]
• Desra Percaya – Indonesian diplomat
• Tracy Philipps MC (Hatfield) – Colonial Administrator, Intelligence Officer, and Conservationist; Secretary-General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
• Nigel Phillips – Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Robert Philpot – former Director, Progress[195]
• Maurice Berkeley Portman – Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
• Francis Ambrose Ridley (Non-Collegiate) – Marxist, secularist and President of the National Secular Society (1951–1963)
• Graham Savage – civil servant and educationalist
• Reresby Sitwell, 7th Baronet (Grey) – Hon. Fellow of Grey from 2001[196]
• Richard Sloggett (Hatfield) – Senior Fellow and Health and Social Care Lead at Policy Exchange[197]
• C. A. Smith (Armstrong) – socialist politician (Common Wealth Party) and Zionist
• John Rawling Todd (Hatfield) – Colonial Administrator on Diego Garcia, later Secretary of Housing in British Hong Kong
• Mike Tomlinson – Chief Inspector of Schools and chair of the Working Group for 14–19 Reform
• Elsie Tu (Armstrong) – elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong, and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
• Kevin Watkins (Castle) – Chief Executive of Save the Children UK (since 2016)
• John Francis Yaxley (Hatfield) – civil servant in Colonial Office, former Financial Secretary in British Hong Kong
• Giles York – Chief Constable, Sussex Police[198]

• Walter Robert Adams (Castle) – former Archbishop of Yukon and Acting Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
• Drexel Gomez (St Chad's) – Archbishop of the West Indies (1998–2009)
• Alastair Haggart (Hatfield) – professor of theology and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church (1977–1985)
• James Horstead (Castle) – Archbishop of West Africa (1955–1961)
• Edward Hutson – Archbishop of the West Indies (1922–1936)
• Mesrob Krikorian (St John's) – late Armenian Archbishop and former Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Germany[199]
• Michael Ramsey (St Chad's) – Baron Ramsey of Canterbury; former Van Mildert Professor of Divinity; Fellow, Governor and Visitor of St Chad's' Archbishop of Canterbury (1961–1974)
• Theophilos III (Castle) – Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
• Justin Welby (St John's) – previously Bishop of Durham, succeeded Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013[200]
• John Wilson - Archbishop of Southwark

• Joseph Osei-Bonsu (Ushaw) – Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong and President, Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference[201]
• Thomas Makinson Armour (St Chad's) – Bishop of Wangaratta
• Robert Ronald Atwell (St John's) – Bishop of Stockport
• Clifford Conder Barker (St Chad's) – Bishop of Whitby (1976–1983) and Bishop of Selby (1983–1991)[202]
• Frederic Beaven (Castle) – Bishop of Mashonaland (1911–1925)
• James Harold Bell (St John's) – the Bishop of Knaresborough
• David Williams Bentley (Cuths) – 7th Bishop of Barbados
• Richard Blackburn (St John's) – Bishop of Warrington
• John Boys (Hatfield) – Provincial Commissary to the Archbishop of Cape Town, 4th Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman[203]
• Ronald Brown – Bishop of Birkenhead
• Mark Bryant – Bishop of Jarrow
• Cyril Bulley (St Chad's) – Late Bishop of Penrith and Bishop of Carlisle
• Edmund Capper – Bishop of St Helena (1967 –1973)
• Sydney Caulton (St Chad's) – Dean of Auckland, Bishop of Melanesia
• Alan Chesters (St Chad's) – Bishop of Blackburn 1989–2003, made Hon. Fellow at St Chad's in 2010[204]
• Steven Croft (St John's) – Bishop of Oxford and formerly Bishop of Sheffield[205]
• Harold Darby – former Bishop of Sherwood
• David Edwardes Davies (Hatfield) – Bishop of Bangor 1944 –1949
• Mark Davies (Ushaw) – Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury
• Peter Dawes (Hatfield) – Bishop of Derby, 1988–95[206]
• Michael Doe – former Bishop of Swindon
• Arthur Douglas (Hatfield) – Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney (1883–1905)
• Christopher Paul Edmondson (St John's) – Bishop of Bolton
• Christopher Foster (Castle) – Bishop of Portsmouth[207]
• George Frodsham (Castle) – Bishop of North Queensland (1902 –1913)
• John Gaisford – Bishop of Beverley
• Michael Frederick Gear (St John's) – former Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster
• John Gladwin (St John's) – Bishop of Chelmsford
• John Goddard (St Chad's) – Bishop of Burnley
• Frederick Goldie (Hatfield) – Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway (1974–1980)[208]
• Alastair Haggart (Hatfield) – Bishop of Edinburgh in 1975–85[209]
• Temple Hamlyn (Hatfield) – Bishop of Accra (1908–1910)[210]
• Clive Handford (Hatfield) – Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf (1996–2007)[211]
• Ralph Hawkins (Hatfield) – Bishop of Bunbury[212]
• Robert Hay – Bishop of Tasmania (1919 –1943)
• Samuel Heaslett – Bishop of South Tokyo (1921–1941)
• Michael Henshall (St Chad's) – former Bishop Suffragan of Warrington (1976–96)[213]
• George Hills (Castle) – first bishop of the Diocese of British Columbia[214]
• Nick Holtham (Collingwood) – Bishop of Salisbury[215]
• William Walsham How (Castle) – first Bishop of Wakefield[214]
• John Howe – Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane (1955– 1969)
• John Taylor Hughes (Bede) – former Bishop of Croydon and Bishop to the Forces
• John Inge (St Chad's) – Bishop of Worcester, Honorary Fellow of St Chad's
• Michael Ipgrave (St Chad's) – Area Bishop of Woolwich[216]
• Francis Johnston (Hatfield) – Bishop of Egypt (1952–1958)[217]
• Thomas Sherwood Jones – Bishop of Hulme 1930 –1945
• William Stanton Jones – Bishop of Sodor and Man 1928–1942
• Donald Knowles (Hatfield) – Bishop of Antigua (1953–1969)[218]
• Libby Lane (St John's) – Bishop of Stockport, first woman consecrated a Church of England bishop[219]
• James Linton – Anglican Bishop in Persia
• Evered Lunt (Castle) – Bishop of Stepney 1957 –1968
• Peter Maurice – Bishop of Taunton
• Sandy Millar – Anglican bishop appointed by the Church of Uganda as a Bishop in Mission to London
• Vernon Nicholls – Bishop of Sodor and Man (1974–1983)
• Cecil Norgate (St Chad's) – former Bishop of Masasi, Tanzania
• Robert Paterson (St John's) – Bishop of Sodor and Man
• Geoffrey Seagrave Pearson (St John's) – Bishop of Lancaster
• Anthony Russell (St Chad's) – Honorary Fellow, retired Lord Bishop of Ely
• Mark Rylands (Hild Bede) – Bishop of Shrewsbury[220]
• Frank Sargeant – Bishop of Stockport (1984–1994); Bishop at Lambeth (1994–1999)
• John Saxbee (St John's) – Bishop of Lincoln
• Bertram Simpson – Bishop of Kensington (1932–1942); Bishop of Southwark (1942–1959)
• David Stancliffe – Fellow of St Chad's, retired Bishop of Salisbury
• William Nigel Stock (Cuths) – current Bishop at Lambeth, former Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
• Cyril Swaby – Bishop of Jamaica 1968–1975
• Proctor Swaby – Bishop of Guyana and Bishop of Barbados
• Gordon Tindall (Hatfield) – Bishop of Grahamstown (1964–1969)[221]
• John Tinsley – Bishop of Bristol
• Michael Turnbull (St John's) – Bishop of Durham (1994–2003)
• James Turner – Second Bishop of Grafton and Armidale, Australia
• William Van Mildert – former Bishop of Durham
• Martin Warner (St Chad's) – Bishop of Chichester
• Martin Wharton (Van Mildert) – Lord Bishop of Newcastle
• John Wilson (Ushaw) – Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster[222]
• Alison White – Bishop of Hull
• Alan Williams SM – Bishop of Brentwood[223]
• Paul Gavin Williams (Grey) – Bishop of Kensington[224]
• Pete Wilcox – Bishop of Sheffield[225]

• Alexander Chisholm (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Carlisle
• Richard Gillings (St Chad's) – Archdeacon of Macclesfield (1994–2004)[226]
• Glyndwr Hackett (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Monmouth (2001–2008); Archdeacon of Newport (2008–2012)
• Thomas Hodgson (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Huntingdon (1915–1921)
• Robert Jones (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Worcester (2014–present)
• George MacDermott (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Norwich (1921–1938)
• Henry Marriott (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Bermuda (1925–1951)
• Andrew Ritchie (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Surrey (1949-1955)
• Richard Ross-Lewin (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Limerick (1919–1921)
• Andrew Spens of Craigsanquhar (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Lahore (1892–1900)
• Charles Thorp – former rector of Ryton; former Archdeacon of Durham; virtual founder and first Warden of the University, first master of University College
• Paul Wheatley – Archdeacon of Sherborne (1991–2003)
• David Williams (Hatfield) – Archdeacon of Cardigan (1928–1936)
• Thomas Williams – Archdeacon of Craven

• Bill Baddeley – Dean of Brisbane
• Edward Frossard (Castle) – Dean of Guernsey
• John Robert Hall (St Chad's) – Dean of Westminster from 2006, Dean of the Order of the Bath since 2006, made a Hon. Fellow of St Chad's in 2009[227]
• William Kay (Hatfield) – Provost of Blackburn Cathedral, 1936–61[228]
• Roderick Mackay (Hatfield) – Dean of Edinburgh (1939-1954)
• John Anthony McGuckin, Orthodox Christian priest, scholar, and poet
• Robert Pope – Dean of Gibraltar 1977–1982
• John Seaford (St Chad's) – Dean of Jersey and Rector of St Helier (1993–2005)[229]
• Michael Tavinor (Castle) – Dean of Hereford

• Peter Adam (St John's) – Australian Christian minister, vicar of St Jude's Church in Carlton, Melbourne, and principal of Ridley Melbourne
• Joseph Cassidy – Principal of St Chad's College, non-residentiary canon of Durham Cathedral
• George Dragas – Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, and writer, currently professor of patristics at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
• Margaret Dryburgh – missionary in Singapore, where she was captured in the Second World War; the plight of Dryburgh and her fellow inmates in a Japanese prisoner of war camp inspired the 1997 film Paradise Road
• John Galbraith Graham (St Chad's) – British crossword puzzle writer, 'Araucaria' of The Guardian
• Robert William Bilton Hornby (Castle) – antiquarian and priest at York Minster[214]
• Francis ffolkes (Hatfield) – Rector of Hillington, Norfolk, Chaplain-in-Ordinary to King George V[230]
• Alan Horsley (St Chad's) – Provost of St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness (1988 to 1991)[231]
• John Anthony McGuckin (Ushaw College), Nielsen Professor of Church History, Union Theological Seminary New York – Orthodox Archpriest, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
• Hugh McIntosh (Hatfield) – Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow (1966–1970)[232]
• John McManners (St Chad's) – Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford and winner of the Wolfson History Prize
• Christopher Pullin (St Chad's) – Canon Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral
• Neil Thompson (Bede) – Canon Precentor at Rochester Cathedral
• Richard Turnbull (St John's) – Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
• Stephen Warner (Castle) – Rector of Holy Trinity, Eastbourne
• Bill Williams (Hatfield) – Provost of Coventry Cathedral (1958-1981)

• John Henry Blunt (Castle) – English divine
• Richard Blundell Comins (Hatfield) – missionary in Melanesia
• John Keble – Member of the first convocation of the university[233]
• Houn Jiyu-Kennett – Zen Buddhist teacher of the Sōtō school; founder of Shasta Abbey in the United States
• Iain Murray – pastor, founder of Banner of Truth Trust
• John Henry Newman – Member of the first convocation of the university[233]
• Jonas Pilling (Hatfield) – unstable priest

• Mike Allison – basketball player for Gifu Swoops
• Monika Bosilj – Croatian basketball player
• Mollie Campbell – basketball player for Great Britain

Holly Colvin, youngest Test cricketer of either sex to play for England

Andrew Strauss, Former Captain of England's Test cricket team

Typhoon Tyson, England fast bowler

• Ajaz Akhtar – Cambridgeshire cricketer
• Paul Allott (Bede) – Lancashire and England cricketer
• Caroline Atkins (Hild Bede) – England cricketer
• Colin Atkinson – former Somerset cricket captain
• Jamie Atkinson (St Mary's) – Hong Kong cricket captain
• Steve Atkinson (Bede) – Durham, the Netherlands and Hong Kong cricketer (1970s)
• David Balcombe – Hampshire cricketer
• Jonathan Batty (St Chad's) — Surrey and Gloucestershire wicket-keeper and opening batsman
• Chaitanya Bishnoi (Hatfield) – Indian cricketer
• Mark Chilton – former Lancashire captain
• Holly Colvin (St Mary's) – England cricketer; member of the current England women's cricket team; holds the record of being the youngest Test cricketer of either sex to play for England[237]
• Nick Compton (Hatfield) – cricketer
• Matthew Creese – cricketer
• Tim Curtis (Hatfield) – England cricketer[238]
• Lee Daggett – Cricketer
• Brian Evans (St Chad's) – Hertfordshire batsman
• Laurie Evans (St Mary's) – English cricketer
• Robert Ferley – English cricketer
• James Foster (Collingwood) – Essex and England wicketkeeper
• Graeme Fowler (Bede) – former England and Lancashire cricketer; current coach of the MCC Centre of Excellence
• James Freeling, 7th Baronet (Castle) – represented MCC and Oxford University
• Steve Henderson (Hatfield) – former Worcestershire cricketer
• Simon Hughes (Castle) – writer, cricket analyst and former Middlesex and Durham bowler
• Nasser Hussain (Hild Bede) – former captain of the England cricket team[239]
• Ben Hutton — Middlesex batsman
• Will Jefferson (Hild Bede) – former Essex country cricketer
• Douglas Lockhart – Scotland wicket-keeper
• Alex Loudon (Collingwood) – Warwickshire and England all-rounder
• Shan Masood
• Gehan Mendis (Bede) – Sussex and Lancashire cricketer
• Tim O'Gorman (St Chad's) – former Derbyshire opening batsman
• Will Smith (Collingwood) – Durham County Cricket Club Captain
• Martin Speight (St Chad's) – former Durham County Cricket Club wicketkeeper
• Alexander Stead – Staffordshire cricketer
• Andrew Strauss (Hatfield) – former captain of the England Test cricket team[240]
• Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson (Hatfield) – former England cricketer and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1956[238]
• Nathaniel Watkins (Hatfield) – cricketer
• Robbie Williams (St Mary's) – cricketer
• Matthew Windows (Hild Bede) – Gloucestershire cricketer

Layla Young, England goalkeeper

• Thomas Blyth (Armstrong) – centre forward for Newcastle United
• Eddy Brown – Coventry City and Birmingham City centre forward
• Warren Bradley (Hatfield) – Manchester United and England footballer[241][242]
• Oliver Gill (Cuths) – footballer for Manchester United Football Club
• Michael King (St Aidan's) – former Burnley winger
• Matt Perrella – goalkeeper for Utica City FC
• Joe Shaw (Armstrong) – Hull City forward
• Jim Shoulder (Cuths) – Scarborough F.C. footballer
• Wouter Verstraaten (Grey) – South Shields defender
• Layla Young – footballer, Brighton & Hove Albion, Doncaster Belles and England

• Jamie Cachia (St Mary's) – goalkeeper for Scotland national team
• Lorna Cruickshank (Hatfield) – represents Scotland women's team
• Steph Elliott (Collingwood) – defender for England women's team
• Tessa Howard (Castle) – midfielder for England women's team
• Sean Rowlands – represented Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
• Rui Saldanha (Hatfield) – represented Great Britain at the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Rhys Smith (St Mary's) – midfielder for England national team
• Jack Turner – forward for England national team
• Jack Waller (Hild Bede) – defender for England and Great Britain

• Simon Barr (Hatfield)
• Colin Barratt
• Roger Brown (Hild Bede)
• Andy Butt
• James Clarke (Cuths)
• Philippa Cross
• Suzie Ellis
• Angus Groom (Hatfield)
• Will Fletcher (Hild Bede)
• Alice Freeman (Hatfield)
• Lucinda Gooderham (Hild Bede)
• Wade Hall-Craggs (Grey)
• Naomi Hoogesteger (Hild Bede)
• David Hosking (Grey)
• Tracy Langlands (St Mary's)
• Ian Lawson
• Lindsey Maguire (Ustinov)
• Callum McBrierty (St John's)
• Malindi Myers
• Louisa Reeve (Hatfield)
• Peter Rudge (Van Mildert)
• Emily Taylor (Hatfield)
• Kim Thomas
• Lily van den Broecke (Castle)

Adam Brocklebank, Newcastle Falcons prop

Will Greenwood, 2003 Rugby World Cup winner

Charlie Hodgson, England Fly-half

• Toby Allchurch (Hatfield) – participated in 1979 England rugby union tour of Japan, Fiji and Tonga
• Josh Beaumont (St. Aidan's) – Sale Sharks and England national rugby union team player
• Mark Bailey (Hild Bede) – former English national rugby union player, Professor of Later Medieval History at the University of East Anglia
• David Barnes – Bath Rugby prop
• Richard Breakey (Hatfield) – Scotland rugby player
• Adam Brocklebank (Collingwood) – Newcastle Falcons prop
• Jeremy Campbell-Lamerton (Hatfield) – former Scottish rugby union lock[241]
• Will Carling (Hatfield) – rugby union player for Harlequin F.C., former captain of the England national rugby union team (1988–1996)[238][243]
• Fran Clough (Collingwood) – England rugby player
• Jon Dunbar – Scotland flanker
• Phil de Glanville (Castle) – former captain of the England national rugby union team[244]
• P.J. Dixon (Grey) – Captain of England Rugby Union Team 1972; as an uncapped player, played in the Lions' first Test victories against New Zealand in 1971, scoring a try in the 14–14 draw at Eden Park
• Will Greenwood (Hatfield) – England rugby player[241][245]
• Simon Hammersley – Sale Sharks fullback
• Charlie Hannaford (Hatfield) – England rugby player
• Duncan Hodge – Scotland full back
• Charlie Hodgson – England rugby player
• Ed Kalman – Scotland prop
• Heather Kerr (St Mary's) – represented England at 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup
• Peter Lillington (Hatfield) – participated in 1981 Scotland rugby union tour of New Zealand
• Stuart Legg (Hatfield) – former rugby union full-back for Newcastle Falcons and Treviso
• Claudia MacDonald – England women scrum-half[246]
• Alan Old – England international and British and Irish Lion, participated in 1974 South Africa tour
• Ollie Phillips (Van Mildert) – captained England sevens
• Marcus Rose (Hatfield) – England rugby union international full back[238]
• Peter Rossborough (Bede) – former England rugby fullback
• Andy Mullins (Hatfield) – England rugby player
• Tim Stimpson (Grey) – rugby union player and England international (1996–2002)
• Rob Vickers – Newcastle Falcons hooker
• Dave Walder (Hatfield) – rugby union footballer, fly-half for the Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars in Japan[241]
• Peter Warfield (Hatfield) – England rugby player
• Ben Woods (Hatfield) – former rugby union player who played for Newcastle Falcons and Leicester Tigers as an openside flanker[241]

• Mark Hudspith (Hatfield) – long distance runner, 1994 Commonwealth Games medallist
• Colin Kirkham (Cuths) – marathon runner, competed at 1972 Summer Olympics
• Rahul Mehta (S. Mary's) – Indian long distance runner, most famous for his victory in the 2001 Great North Run
• Jon Solly (Hatfield) – long distance runner, 1986 Commonwealth Games champion

Explorer Robert Swan

• Peter Elleray (Collingwood) – Formula One and Le Mans Race Car designer
• Katharine Ford (Hatfield) – 4 times world-record holding Ultracyclist and the first ever Briton to ride for 12 Hours or more on an Indoor Velodrome and Static bicycle
• Shirin Gerami – first Iranian woman triathlete[247]
• Michael Knighton (Cuths) – Chairman of Carlisle United F.C.
• Robert Swan (St Chad's) – Honorary Fellow of St Chad's, Explorer – the first person to reach both the South and North Pole on foot
• Jock Wishart (Bede) – set a new world record for circumnavigation of the globe in a powered vessel and organising the Polar Race

Edward Bradley, who wrote as Cuthbert Bede

Minette Walters, bestselling author and crime writer

Ernest Raymond, author of Tell England

Peter Watson, popular historian

Charles Gidley Wheeler, author of historical novels

• Poppy Adams (Hatfield) – novelist
• Russell Ash (Cuths) – author of Top 10 of Everything
• Oliver Balch (Hatfield) - travel writer
• Simi Bedford – Nigerian novelist
• John Blackburn (Hatfield) – thriller writer
• Edward Bradley (Castle) – novelist and clergyman known by the pen name Cuthbert M. Bede; author of The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
• Bill Bryson – writer and former University Chancellor
• Barbara Cleverly – author of mystery novels
• William Farquhar Conton – Sierra Leonean author best known for The African
• Tim FitzHigham (St Chad's) – award-winning British comedian, author, and world record holder
• Stephen Davies (Collingwood) – children's author
• Mark Elliott (Collingwood) – travel writer
• Justin Hill (Cuths) – award-winning young author
• Lorna Hill (St Mary's) – children's writer, author of the Sadlers Wells series
• Baret Magarian (Castle) – novelist and freelance journalist
• Allan Mallinson (St Chad's) – military historian and author of the Matthew Hervey novels
• Guy Mankowski – author
• Alice Oseman - novelist
• Katharine Preston (Hatfield) – author and public speaker
• Rosa Rankin-Gee (Hatfield) - novelist
• Ernest Raymond (Unattached) – novelist
• Mary Stewart (Hild) – novelist
• Patrick Tilley – science fiction author (The Amtrak Wars)
• Dan van der Vat (Cuths) – journalist, author
• Annabel Venning (Castle) – journalist, author
• Minette Walters (Trevs) – bestselling author and crime writer
• Peter Watson (Castle) – journalist, author
• Charles Gidley Wheeler – screenwriter (The Sandbaggers) and novelist

Sir Harold Evans, Editor at Large, Reuters

Jeremy Vine, journalist and presenter for the BBC

• George Arbuthnott – investigative journalist
• Tim Atkin (Castle) – wine correspondent
• Katy Balls – deputy political editor of The Spectator
• Peter Cadogan – writer and protester
• Dominic Carman (Hatfield) – journalist and Liberal Democrat politician[105]
• Benjamin Cook (Collingwood) – journalist and author
• Adrian Dannatt (Chads) – child actor, artist and journalist
• Hunter Davies (Castle) – journalist and author of The Beatles: The Only Authorised Biography
• Jonny Dymond – BBC journalist[248]
• Harold Evans (Castle) – journalist; former editor of The Sunday Times and The Times; author of The American Century[249]
• Nigel Farndale (Ustinov) – writer in the Sunday Telegraph
• Jonah Fisher (Collingwood) – BBC journalist
• Alexander Frater (Hatfield) – travel writer, journalist
• Tom Harwood (St Mary's) - journalist, political commentator
• Annabel Heseltine (St Mary's) – editor of School House Magazine
• Graham Hancock (Cuths) – co-editor of New Internationalist magazine, 1976–1979; East Africa correspondent of The Economist, 1981–1983
• Andrew Holgate – Literary Editor, The Sunday Times[250]
• John Kay (Hatfield) – former chief reporter with The Sun
• Christopher Lamb – Rome correspondent for The Tablet
• Colin McDowell (Hatfield) – fashion writer and journalist
• Andrew Norfolk – chief investigative reporter for The Times, known for work exposing the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal
• Sebastian Payne (Van Mildert) – journalist[251]
• Martin Pengelly (Van Mildert) – Weekend editor of Guardian US[252][253]
• Manveen Rana – reporter, Today Programme[254]
• Jeremy Vine (Hatfield) – journalist and early member of The Durham Revue
• Jonathan Wilson – football journalist, founder and editor of The Blizzard[255]

• Richard Caddel – poet, publisher and editor
• Julia Copus – poet and children's writer
• James Kirkup (Grey) – travel writer, poet, novelist, playwright, translator, broadcaster, Hon. Fellow Grey College from 1992[256]
• Liz Lefroy (St Mary's) – poet, winner of Roy Fisher prize (2011)
• Tina Kover (Ustinov) – translator
• Rachel McCarthy (Castle) – poet, critic and broadcaster
• David Mercer (King's) – English playwright and dramatist
• Michael O'Neill – poet and academic

• Dave Anderson (Collingwood) – cartoon and animation writer
• Lucy Beresford (Trevs) – writer, psychotherapist and media commentator
• David J. Bodycombe (Trevs) – puzzle-writer
• John Galbraith Graham (St Chad's) – crossword compiler, "Araucaria" of The Guardian; Chaplain and tutor at St Chad's 1949–52
• Joseph Stevenson (Castle) – English Catholic archivist