List of University of Birmingham alumni
This is a list of notable alumni related to the University of Birmingham and its predecessors, Mason Science College and Queen's College, Birmingham. Excluded from this list are those people whose only connection with Birmingham University is that they were awarded an honorary degree.
Nobel Prize recipients
| Name | Year | Prize | Affiliation | Reference |
| Francis William Aston | 1922 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry | BSc in Applied/Pure Science, 1910; DSc in Applied/Pure Science, 1914 | |
| Maurice Wilkins | 1962 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | PhD in Physics, 1940 | |
| Sir John Vane | 1982 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | BSc in Chemistry, 1947 | |
| Sir Paul Nurse | 2001 | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | BSc in Biology, 1970 |
In addition, soil scientist Peter Bullock contributed to the reports of the IPCC, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007
Academics
Agriculture
- Chris Pollock, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Welsh Assembly Government 2007-08
- Christopher Wathes, Chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, awarded the Research Medal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England
Computer science, mathematics and statistics
- Julian Besag, statistician, recipient of the Guy Medal in Silver
- Mike Cowlishaw, computer scientist
- Peter McCullagh, statistician, recipient of the Guy Medal in Bronze and in Silver, and the inaugural Karl Pearson Prize
- Mary Lee Woods, mathematician and computer programmer
- Mike Worboys, mathematician and computer scientist
Cultural studies
- Paul Gilroy, sociologist and cultural theorist
- Stuart Hall, cultural theorist
- Lawrence Grossberg, cultural studies theorist
- Paul Willis, sociologist and cultural theorist
- Angela McRobbie, media studies scholar and cultural theorist
Economics
- David Bailey, economist
- Michael Beesley, industrial economist
- David Blanchflower, labour economist
- Julian Cooper, specialist in Russian economic matters
- Milton Ezrati, economist
- Homa Katouzian, economist, historian, political scientist and literary critic, with a special interest in Iranian studies
- Charit Tingsabadh, Thai economist
- Alan Williams, health economist
Education
- John Omoniyi Abiri, Nigerian academic, dean of the Faculty of Education University of Ilorin
- Mel Ainscow, Professor of Education at the University of Manchester
- William Arbuckle Reid, British curriculum theorist
- Leaena Tambyah, social worker and founder of the first school for children with multiple disabilities in Singapore
Engineering
- Sir Philip Baxter, chemical engineer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales
- Tim Broyd, civil engineer and 152nd President of Institution of Civil Engineers, 2016–2017.
- John Campbell, casting scientist
- John Fisher, leading biomedical engineer
- Ray Lightwood, medical engineer at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, with Leon Abrams developed and implanted the first variable rate pacemaker
- Lionel Simeon Marks, engineer and one of the pioneers of aeronautics, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University from 1894 to 1940
- Sir Louis Matheson, British engineer, served as the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University
- Wahid Omar, Professor in Structural Engineering and the sixth Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
- Marco Rito-Palomares, Professor of Bioprocess Engineering at the Centre for Biotechnology at Tecnológico de Monterrey
- P. B. Sharma, mechanical engineer, Vice Chancellor of Delhi Technological University
- Bridget Shield, awarded the R W B Stephens Medal by the Institute of Acoustics in 2011
- Noky Simbani, model, studied chemical engineering and graduated in 2020
English
- Polly Ho-Yen, author
- David Lodge, novelist and literary critic
- Lorna Sage, English academic, author and literary critic
- F. P. Wilson, literary scholar and bibliographer
Geography
- John Brian Harley, geographer and map historian
- Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, geographer
- Phil Hubbard, Professor of Urban Studies, King's College London
- Keith Lilley, Professor of Geography Queen's University Belfast
- Terry Slater, Reader in Historical Geography
- Michael John Wise, Emeritus Professor of Geography, University of London
Geology
- Rob Larter, Marine Geolophysicist, British Antarctic Survey, awarded the Polar Medal
- Li Siguang, father of geomechanics in China
- Frank H. T. Rhodes, geologist, President of Cornell University from 1977 to 1995
- Ethel Shakespear, geologist
- Gordon Warwick, geomorphologist and speleologist
- Harry B. Whittington, palaeontologist who made a major contribution to the study of fossils of the Burgess Shale and other Cambrian fauna
- Leonard Johnston Wills, British geologist, recipient of the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1954
History
- M. K. Ashby, educationalist, writer and historian
- Halil Berktay, Turkish historian
- Sydney Checkland, British-Canadian economic historian
- Carl Chinn, historian, writer, radio presenter, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, media personality
- Reginald Horsman, historian
- Catherine Merridale, historian
- Duncan Probert, historian
- Ian Morris, American historian, currently Willard Professor of Classics at Stanford University
- Margaret Mullett, Professor of Byzantine studies and director of the Institute of Byzantine Studies at the Queen's University of Belfast
- Berrick Saul, Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, economic historian
- George E. Taylor, historian
- Charlotte Zeepvat, royal historian
Humanities, management and social sciences
- Akbar S. Ahmed, anthropologist; Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, DC
- Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of International Relations, East European Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Melbourne
- Paul Crawford, academic, author and broadcaster; professor of Health Humanities at the University of Nottingham
- John Ellis, media academic
- Sir John Hills, professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics; director of the ESRC Research Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion
- Stephen Hinton, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University
- Alan Kennedy, Professor of Psychology from 1972–2006 at the University of Dundee
- Vincent Watts, management consultant, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia
- Ian Wilson, Canadian linguist
Philosophy
- John Lewis, philosopher
- Bernard Mayo, English philosopher
- Constance Naden, philosopher and poet
Political science
- Stephen Gill, political scientist
- Philip Gummett, Chief Executive at the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Director of the PREST institute, and Professor of Government and Technology Policy at Manchester University
- Richard Sakwa, Russian and European political scientist
Theology
- Robert Beckford, theologian and film-maker
- William Lane Craig, philosopher and Christian apologist
- Gavin D'Costa, Professor of Theology at the University of Bristol
- Lynn de Silva, Sri Lankan theologian, former director of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue, Methodist minister
- James Haire, Director of the Public and Contextual Theology Research Centre at Charles Sturt University in Canberra
- James Holt, Mormon scholar
- John M. Hull, Emeritus Professor of Religious Education at the University of Birmingham
- J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam scholar
Zoology
- Minnie Abercrombie, zoologist
- Leslie Brent, immunologist and zoologist
- Desmond Morris, zoologist, author and TV presenter
- Karl Shuker, zoologist and cryptozoologist
Armed forces
- Peter Gray, Air Commodore and military historian
- Alan Hawley, Major General, Director General of the Army Medical Services 2006-09
- Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the General Staff, the most senior officer in the British Army
- Adrian Nance, Commodore of Royal Navy Maritime Warfare School based in HMS Collingwood, commanding officer of HMS Ark Royal
- David Tinker, Royal Navy supply officer, killed in action, shortly before the end of the Falklands War, when HMS Glamorgan was hit by an Exocet missile
Charities and NGOs
- H. J. Blackham, first president and co-founder of the British Humanist Association
- Ian Bruce, academic, vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, founder and president of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School
- Glanis Changachirere, women's rights activist and founder of the Institute for Young Women Development
- Hany El-Banna, founder of Islamic Relief
- Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive of Education for Health
- George Hosking, founder of the WAVE Trust
- Sebastian Rocca, social entrepreneur, coach, and LGBTQI rights activist
- Jane Slowey, Chief Executive of The Foyer Federation
- Sir Nick Young, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief
Engineers
- Sir Stanley Brown, chairman of the CEGB
- John Campbell, casting scientist
- Sir Henry Fowler, locomotive engineer, Director of Production Ministry of Munitions 1915–17
- Winifred Hackett, aeronautical engineer and former president of the Women's Engineering Society, the first woman to graduate from the University of Birmingham with a degree in engineering.
- Robert Haslam, British industrialist and chairman of British Steel Corporation and British Coal.
- Nana Kagga, Petroleum engineer at Tullow Oil in Uganda.
- Lord Marshall of Goring, Chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board.
- Sir Francis McLean, Chief Engineer of the Psychological Warfare Division of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II, Director of Engineering at the BBC from 1963–68
- Sir Terry Morgan, Chairman of Crossrail, Chief Executive of Tube Lines
- Sir Austin Pearce, former Chairman of British Aerospace
- Harvey Postlethwaite, engineer and Technical Director of several Formula One teams.
- Sir Alan Rudge, head of operations at British Telecommunications, Chairman Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, President Institution of Electrical Engineers, Chairman Engineering Council.
- Peter Wheeler, chemical engineer who owned the TVR sports car company for 23 years.
Healthcare
- Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission
- Peter Carter, general secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing
- Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer for England
- Sir Guy Dain, Chairman of the British Medical Association 1943-9
- Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England
- David Haslam, chair of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
- Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer in the NHS
- Rowan Hillson, National Clinical Director for Diabetes at the Department of Health, 2008–13
- Cornelius Odarquaye Quarcoopome, pioneer ophathalmologist in Ghana
- Caroline Shaw, chief executive of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
- Andrew Vallance-Owen, Medical Director of the Bupa Group and Deputy Chairman of the Bupa Foundation
St. Lucia