Notable Alumni
An asterisk (*) indicates attendance at UW–Madison without earning a degree.
- Virgil Abloh (2003) – Designer, artist
- Lynsey Addario (1995) – Photojournalist
- Tammy Baldwin (JD 1989) – U.S. senator
- Rita Braver (1970) – CBS News reporter
- Dale Chihuly (MS 1967) – Glass artist
- Laurel Clark (BS, 1983, MD, 1987) – Astronaut
- Carrie Coon (MFA 2006) – Actress
- Hector DeLuca (MS 1953, PhD 1955) – Pioneer in synthesizing vitamin D
- Russ Feingold (1975) – Former U.S. senator
- Jeff Greenfield (1964) – CNN news analyst
- Lorraine Hansberry (1952*) – Playright, author
- bell hooks (MA, 1976) – Author
- Jane Kaczmarek (1979) – Actress
- Ben Karlin (1993) – TV writer and producer
- Herb Kohl (1956) – Former U.S. senator
- Robert M. La Follette (1879) – Former Wisconsin governor and congressman
- Steve Levitan (1984) – TV writer and producer
- Charles Lindbergh (1924*) – Trans-Atlantic aviator
- Jim Lovell (1950) – Astronaut
- Walter Mirisch (1942) – Movie producer
- Errol Morris (1969) – Documentary film producer
- John Muir (1863*) – Naturalist, father of the national park system
- Gaylord Nelson (LLB 1942) – Former Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator, founder of Earth Day
- Joyce Carol Oates (MA 1961) – Novelist
- Allan “Bud” Selig (1956) – Former commissioner, Major League Baseball
- Glenn Silber (1972) – Documentary filmmaker
- Joey Soloway (1987) – TV writer, producer and director
- Nelson Tansu (1998, PhD 2003) – Scientist, engineer, and Fellow of National Academy of Inventors
- Brandon Taylor (MS, 2017) – Author
- Frederick Jackson Turner (1884, MA 1888) – Historian
- Eudora Welty (1929) – Author
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1890*) – Architect
- David (1970) and Jerry (1972) Zucker – Movie producers