This is a list of University of Exeter people, including office holders, current and former academics, and alumni of the University of Exeter.

In post-nominals, the University of Exeter is abbreviated as Exon. (from the Latin Exoniensis), and is the suffix given to honorary and academic degrees from the university.

Chancellors

• Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, GCVO, CBE (1955–1972)
• Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory of Tiverton, KG, PC, GCMG, TD, DL (1972–1981)
• Sir Rex Richards, FRS, FRSC (1982–1998)
• Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, QC, FRSA (1998–2005)
• Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, OBE (2006–2016)
• Paul Myners, Baron Myners, CBE (2016–2021)
• Sir Michael Barber, (2022-)

Vice-Chancellors

Principals of the University College of the South West of England

• Hector Hetherington (1920-1924)
• Walter Hamilton Moberly (1925–1926)
• John Murray (1926–1951)
• Sir Thomas Taylor (1952–1953)
• Sir James Cook (1954–1955); final Principal, first Vice-Chancellor

Vice-Chancellors of the University of Exeter

• Sir James Cook (1955–1966); former Principal, first Vice-Chancellor,
• Sir John Llewellyn (1966–1972)
• Harry Kay (1973–1984)
• Sir David Harrison (1984–1994)
• Sir Geoffrey Holland (1994–2002)
• Sir Steve Smith (2002–2020)
• Professor Lisa Roberts (2020-)

Honorary graduates

Notable academics

• Richard Acland, Education
• John Adair, Management (Leadership)
• Omar Ashour, Middle East Studies
• Manuel Barange, Biosciences
• Barry Barnes, Sociology
• Jeremy Black, History
• Barbara Borg, Classical Archaeology
• Adam Curle, Psychology and Education
• Uri Davis, Middle East Studies
• John Dupré, Philosophy
• John Endler, Animal Behaviour
• Edzard Ernst, Complementary Medicine
• Timothy Gorringe, Theology
• Alex Haslam, Psychology
• Philip Hensher, Creative Writing
• Ghada Karmi, Middle East Studies
• Paul Kline, Psychology
• William Lewis, Chemistry
• Alastair Logan, Theology
• Linda Long, Biochemistry
• Richard Lynn, Psychology
• Peter Cox (climatologist), Climatology
• Colin MacCabe, Film Studies
• Moelwyn Merchant, English
• Gerd Nonneman, Middle East Studies
• Richard Overy, History
• Ilan Pappe, Middle East Studies
• Philip Payton, Cornish Studies
• David Rees, Pure Mathematics
• Nicholas Rodger, History
• Roy Sambles, Physics
• Richard Seaford, Classics
• Dikran Tahta, Mathematics educator
• Nick Talbot, FRS, Molecular genetics
• Andrew Thorpe, History
• Malcolm Todd, History
• Sir John Tooke, Medicine
• Garry Tregidga, History
• Paul Webley, Psychology
• Canon Vernon White, Theology (Lecturer and Lazenby Chaplain)
• Michael Winter, Politics
• Ted Wragg, Education
• Tim Lenton, Climatology

Notable alumni

Academics

• Sir Michael Berry - mathematical physicist, known for the Berry Phase and recipient of the Ig Nobel Prize for using magnets to levitate a frog
• Iwona Blazwick - OBE, art critic and lecturer
• Stephen J. Ceci - cognitive psychologist - PhD Psychology (1978)
• Imogen Coe - biochemist and Dean of Toronto Metropolitan University
• Rose Ferraby - archaeologist and artist
• Andrew D. Hamilton - former vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, current president of New York University
• David Maguire - Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia
• Sami Moubayed - historian and writer
• Rachel Owen - photographer, printmaker and lecturer on medieval Italian literature
• Raymond St. Leger - mycologist, entomologist and molecular biologist
• Sir William Wakeham - former vice-chancellor of Southampton University
• Namira Nahouza - French author, academic researcher, university lecturer, teacher of Arabic and religious studies, and research fellow at Cambridge Muslim College
• Max Baker-Hytch - analytic philosopher and fellow of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

Actors and directors

• Samantha Baines - actress and comedian
• Phil Cameron - theatre producer
• Adam Campbell - actor
• Steven Culp - actor
• Stephen Dillane - actor
• Michael Garner - actor
• Nick Hendrix - actor
• Vanessa Kirby - actress
• Jeremy Meadow - theatre director/producer
• Nicholas Pegg - actor/director
• Julian Richings - actor
• Andrew Havill - actor
• Christopher Smith - American actor and improviser
• Elaine Tan - actress

Business people

• George Hobart-Hampden, 10th Earl of Buckinghamshire - former HSBC executive
• Rachel Burnett - IT lawyer, author and president of the British Computer Society
• Phil Cameron - owner of No.1 Traveller
• Dennis Gillings - CBE, founder of the Fortune 500 company Quintiles
• Sam E. Jonah - president of AngloGold Ashanti
• Toki Mabogunje founder, Toki Mabogunje & Co and the 3rd female president Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI)
• Henry Staunton - media mogul
• Neil Woodford - founder and CEO, Woodford Investment Management
• Sarah Turvill, retired chairman of Willis International

Entertainers and journalists

• Toby Amies - TV presenter, film-maker
• Katy Ashworth - children's TV chef
• Emma B - Heart 106.2 Drivetime presenter
• Steve Backshall - BBC television presenter
• Nick Baker - wildlife TV expert
• William Bemister - Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist
• Raef Bjayou - former contestant on BBC's The Apprentice
• Alison Booker - radio DJ
• John Crace - Guardian features writer
• Tom Deacon - comedian and Radio 1 DJ
• Tim Footman - journalist and author
• Daphne Fowler - game show champion, winner of Fifteen to One, Going for Gold, and Brain of Britain
• Frank Gardner - BBC security correspondent
• Alex George - contestant on season 4 of Love Island UK
• Rhod Gilbert - comedian
• Frank Gillard - broadcaster and BBC executive
• Simon Greenberg - Chelsea FC's Director of Communications
• Lloyd Griffith - comedian, actor and classical singer
• Isabel Hardman - assistant editor of The Spectator^[1]
• Stefano Hatfield - former editor of the i
• Lindsey Hilsum - Channel 4 journalist and international editor
• Katie Hopkins - presenter and former contestant on BBC's The Apprentice
• Paul Jackson - television producer
• Jon Kay - television presenter and journalist
• Raph Korine - Runner-up, Big Brother UK 2017
• Ted Kravitz - Formula 1 commentator
• Mark Labbett - Professional quizzer and TV personality on The Chase
• Isobel Lang - weather presenter on Sky News
• Tim Montgomerie - editor of ConservativeHome
• Clemmie Moodie - Daily Mirror associate features editor
• James Pearce - journalist and presenter for BBC Sport
• Mark Power - journalist and photographer
• Tim Taylor - creator and producer of Channel 4's series Time Team
• Rob Walker - British sports commentator, television presenter and freelance reporter
• Matthew Wright - TV presenter of The Wright Stuff

Judges, lawyers and law enforcement

• Patrick Kwateng Acheampong - Inspector General of Police of the Ghana Police Service - MA Police Studies and Criminal Justice (1990)
• Steve Edge (lawyer) - Partner at Slaughter and May
• Sir Patrick Elias - Lord Justice of Appeal - LLB (1969)
• Sir John Goldring - Lord Justice of Appeal, and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission
• Tito Karnavian - Current Indonesian National Police chief - MA Police Studies (1993)
• Sir Robert Michael Owen - High Court Judge
• Fiona Shackleton - high-profile divorce lawyer
• Ambiga Sreenevasan - former president of the Malaysian Bar Council and human rights activist
• David Syed - Head of Sovereign Practice at Dentons Europe
• Jeremy Wright - Attorney General for England and Wales
• George L. Savvides - Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus

Military personnel

• Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB, ADC, formerly the First Sea Lord chief of the Naval Staff (head of the Royal Navy)
• General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff.
• Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles, first female College Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst commanding New College.^[2]
• Major General Matthew Holmes, former Commandant General Royal Marines.

Musicians

• Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx
• Anthony Drewe - lyricist
• Matthew Herbert - electronic musician
• Hannah Kendall - composer
• Jackie Oates - folk star and multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winner
• Simon Shackleton - electronic musician
• George Stiles - composer
• Thom Yorke - singer Radiohead
• Will Young - singer and actor
• Call Me Loop - singer and songwriter
• Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - performance artists of the 1960s/70s
• Members of Semi-Toned - all-male A cappella group, winner of Gareth Malone's BBC 2 series The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain

Politicians

• Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei - Member of the Ghanaian Parliament and Deputy Minister of Information
• Nickie Aiken - Conservative MP
• Tonia Antoniazzi - Labour MP
• Tengku Zafrul Aziz - Malaysian Minister of Finance
• Adrian Bailey - Labour MP
• James Brokenshire - Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
• David Burrowes - Conservative MP
• Esra Limbacher - Member of the German federal Parliament Bundestag
• Martin Cauchon - former Minister of Justice in Canada
• Derek Clark - UKIP MEP
• Feryal Clark - Labour MP
• Major James Coldwell - former MP and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party in Canada.
• Mark Drakeford - First Minister of Wales
• Michael Frendo - Foreign Minister of Malta
• Zewde Gebre-Sellassie - former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Carl Barrington Greenidge - Former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana
• Kate Griffiths - Conservative MP
• Abdullah Gül - former President of Turkey (2007–14)
• Ameenah Gurib - President of Mauritius
• Vilmundur Gylfason - former Icelandic politician, historian and poet
• Robert Halfon - Conservative MP and Deputy Chairperson
• Philip Ian Hope - Labour MP and vocational education minister
• Moussa Ibrahim - spokesman for Gaddafi during the 2011 Libyan civil war
• Bernadette Jagger - Member of the Namibian Parliament and Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism
• Sajid Javid - Former Chancellor of the Exchequer (2019–2020)
• Sigrid Kaag - Dutch politician and Minister
• Luay al-Khatteeb - Former Minister of Electricity of Iraq
• Jonathan Kwesi Lamptey - Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Ghana
• Mark Lancaster - Conservative MP
• Andrew Lansley - Former MP and Former Secretary of State for Health
• Lau Kong Wah - Secretary for Home Affairs of Hong Kong.
• Caroline Lucas - MP and former Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
• Gabriel Makhlouf - Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and Former Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury
• Anthony Mangnall - Member of UK Parliament
• Eliud Mathu - First African member of the Legislative Council of Kenya
• Linah Mohohlo - Governor of the Bank of Botswana
• Hind Abdul Rahman al-Muftah - Member of the Qatari Consultative Assembly
• Prem Nababsing - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
• Jonny Oates - Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg
• Pieter Omtzigt - Member of the Dutch House of Representatives
• Park Jae-kyu - former Unification Minister and National Security Council Chairman of South Korea
• Roy Perry - Conservative Politician and former MEP
• Álvaro Santos Pereira - Former Minister of Economy, Labour, Transport, Public Works and Communications of Portugal
• Luke Pollard - Labour MP
• George L. Savvides - former Minister of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus
• Abubakar Boniface Siddique - Member of the Ghanaian Parliament and Minister of State
• Mehmet Simsek - Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Minister of Finance (2009–2015)
• Andy Slaughter - Labour MP
• Iain Stewart - Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South
• Abdullah Omran Taryam - First UAE Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, and founder of the newspapers Al Khaleej and Gulf Today
• Robin Teverson - Liberal Democrat MEP and Peer
• Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur - 1st president of Somaliland (1991-1993)
• Jeremy Wright - Attorney General
• Derek Wyatt - Labour MP
• Ahmed Zaki Yamani - former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia
• Yip Hon Weng - Member of the Parliament of Singapore
• Óscar Iván Zuluaga - nominee for President of Colombia in the 2014 election

Religion

• Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury - head of the British Orthodox Church
• James Stuart Jones - Bishop of Liverpool - Theology (1970)
• Peter Smith - Archbishop-emeritus of Southwark, Vice-President of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales
• Sadiq Al-Ghariani - Grand Mufti of Libya
• Andrew Williams - bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England

Royalty

• Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi - ruler of Sharjah - PhD History (1985)
• Infanta Elena of Spain - eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía - MA Sociology and Education - (1990)
• Peter Phillips - eldest grandson and first grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh - Sport Science (2000)^[3]
• Zara Phillips - eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II - Physiotherapy^[4]

Sports people

• Tom Abell - Somerset cricketer
• Mark Bamford - former cricketer
• Andy Beattie - England rugby player
• Richard Capstick - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
• Ben Collins, Formula 3 racing driver, who appeared in Top Gear as the Stig
• Richard Dawson - Yorkshire and England cricketer
• Paul Downton - former England cricketer
• Richard Ellison - former Kent and England cricketer
• Immanuel Feyi-Waboso - Exeter Chiefs and England national team rugby player
• Richard Hill - former England rugby captain
• Lasha Jaiani - Georgian national team rugby player
• Dafydd Jenkins - Exeter Chiefs rugby player and Wales national team captain
• Pete Laverick - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
• Tom Lawday - Harlequins rugby player
• Jack Maunder - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
• Sam Maunder - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
• John Scott - former England national team rugby player
• Henry Slade - Exeter Chiefs and England national team rugby player
• Sam Skinner - Exeter Chiefs and Scotland national team rugby player
• Samantha Smith - tennis player and commentator
• David Sole - former Scottish rugby captain
• Jeff Squire - former Lions and Wales national team rugby player
• Tom Stayt - cricketer
• Arul Suppiah - Malaysia and Somerset cricketer
• Christ Tshiunza - Exeter Chiefs and Wales national team rugby player
• Gerald Trump - cricketer and schoolteacher
• Ross Vintcent - Exeter Chiefs and Italian national team rugby player
• Matthew Wheeler - former Northamptonshire cricketer

Writers and artists

• Nina Allan - author of speculative fiction and winner of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign Novel in 2014
• Steve Bell - cartoonist (PGCE 1975, St Luke's)
• Alice Birch - playwright and screenwriter
• Robert Bolt - Oscar and BAFTA-winning playwright and screenwriter
• Nick Burbridge - author of poetry, plays, novels and songs; founder of folk-rock band McDermott's Two Hours
• Stanley Donwood (aka Dan Rickwood) - artist and writer
• Jon Edgar - sculptor
• David Eldridge - playwright
• Milly Johnson - author
• Santa Montefiore - author
• Abi Morgan - screenwriter
• Ian Mortimer - historian and historical biographer
• Roger Nash - philosopher and poet
• Suniti Namjoshi - writer
• John O'Farrell - author
• Primrose Pitman - artist
• Mark Power - photographer
• J. K. Rowling - author of the Harry Potter books - BA French and Classics
• Robert Shearman - playwright, short story writer and screenwriter (including Doctor Who episode Dalek (2005))
• Robert Sloman - playwright and writer for Doctor Who in the 1970s^[5]
• Carol Shields - author and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Zoë Skoulding - poet
• Lady Teresa Waugh - novelist
• William John Seward Webber sculptor, attended Exeter School of Art

Others

• Belabbes Benkredda - Algerian-German social innovator, founder of The Munathara Initiative, and 2013 NDI Democracy Award recipient
• Laurie Brokenshire - Commodore and puzzle specialist
• Laury Haytayan - MENA officer in the Natural Resource Charter framework, and civil activist in Lebanon
• Dame Suzi Leather - Chairwoman of the Charity Commission
• Catherine Nettleton CMG OBE - Senior British diplomat
• Tuppy Owens - sexuality campaigner

Fictional alumni

• Debbie Aldridge - character in radio soap opera The Archers, played by Tamsin Greig