Honorary graduates

Hon DMus 2023

Musician. Chart-topper Rebecca Lucy Taylor, better known by her stage name Self Esteem, was Mercury Prize-nominated for her 2022 album Prioritise Pleasure. Born in South Yorkshire, she has always been a proud ambassador for Sheffield.

Hon LittD 1992

Actor, comedian, writer. Born in Sheffield, the Monty Python’s Flying Circus star is known worldwide as a hugely influential figure in the evolution of comedy. His travel writing and TV documentaries are among the most widely viewed and celebrated in their field.

Hon LittD 2024

Footballer. Captain of the Women's Super League club Chelsea, and England national team defender. Chesterfield-born Millie has previously played for Doncaster Belles and Leeds Ladies, and is a key figure in the promotion of women’s sport.

Hon LittD 2007

Actor. A legend of stage and screen, the proud Sheffielder has acted with the RSC and made himself a household name through starring roles in historical drama Sharpe, as a Bond villain in GoldenEye, and - most famously - as Boromir in the Lord of the Rings films.

Hon LittD 2015

Presenter. Raised in Sheffield, Emily became of the BBC’s most respected news journalists, winning multiple awards as lead presenter of its flagship current affairs show, Newsnight. She currently hosts the daily LBC radio podcast The News Agents.

Hon LittD 2007

Former cricketer. The West Indies batsman ranks among the all-time greats, holding the record for highest individual first-class score (501 not out). A global sports ambassador, his charity foundation tackles health and social care issues in Trinidad and Tobago.

PhD Law 2012, Hon LittD 2024

Head of Disability, Sport England. Sheffield alumnus Chris provides key support, guidance and advocacy for disability inclusion in national sport, and also currently sits on the Board of Directors for World Disability Billiards and Snooker.

Hon LittD 2025

Climber. Sheffield-based Shauna is Britain’s most successful ever competitive climber and first bouldering world champion. She won golds at the 2016 and 2017 IFSC Climbing World Cups, and was the first Olympic climber to represent Team GB (Tokyo 2020).

Hon LittD 2018

Actor, director. Sheffield-born Dominic is best-known for his starring roles in hit TV dramas The Wire and The Crown, alongside various leading film credits - notably in the Downton Abbey franchise - and multiple acclaimed stage plays.

Hon LittD 2007

Former Vice-President of the USA. Al Gore is widely known and respected today as a leading political environmentalist. His work on global warming has been particularly impactful, as profiled in the hit 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth.

Hon LittD 2023

Writer. Bernardine’s eighth novel Girl, Woman, Other (2019) made her the first black woman and first black British person to win the Booker Prize. The multi-award-winner was also the first writer of colour to be elected President of the Royal Society of Literature.

Hon DEng 2023

Former steelworker. A true city icon and inspiration, Kathleen sparked a seven-year national campaign to recognise the role of female steelworkers in the second world war. Her efforts are immortalised in the Women of Steel statue at Barker’s Pool, Sheffield.

HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Hon DMus 1966
Awarded an honorary degree as part of her visit to the newly opened Arts Tower.

Dame Jenni Murray
Hon LittD 2004
Barnsley-born broadcaster and long-time voice of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Hon DSc 2005
Celebrated explorer, adventurer and environmentalist who famously walked across the whole of Antarctica.

Urooj Mumtaz Khan
MMedSci Restorative Dentistry 2012, Hon LittD 2025
Sheffield alumna and Pakistan cricket captain for the 2009 ICC Women's World Cup, now a TV sports pundit and successful dentist.

The Most Rev and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu
Hon LittD 2007
Former Archbishop of York and legal advisor for the Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor enquiries.

Agnes Grunwald-Spier MBE
MA Holocaust Studies 1998, Hon LittD 2018
Sheffield alumna liberated from the Budapest ghetto in 1945; her books include The Other Schindlers and Women’s Experiences in the Holocaust.

T.S. Eliot
Hon LittD 1959
Nobel Prize-winning writer best known for The Waste Land who also opened the Western Bank Library; honored for his contribution to literature.

Jean-Claude Juncker
Hon LittD 2012
Former Luxembourg Prime Minister and President of the European Commission; among the key architects of the Maastricht Treaty.

Professor Helen Storey
Hon DSc 2013
Award-winning fashion designer with a history of frequent collaboration with Sheffield on various cutting-edge textile science projects.

James O'Hara
Hon LittD 2024
Co-founder of Tramlines festival and developer of a number of bars, restaurants and music venues in Sheffield.

Susanna Chiu
BA Economics 1982, Hon LittD 2025
Sheffield alumna and the first woman to hold the role of President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Sir Stewart Cole
PhD Microbiology 1979, Hon MD 2023
Sheffield alumnus and esteemed microbiologist, former Director General of the Pasteur Institute.

Amal Al Qubaisi
PhD Architecture 2001, Hon LittD 2016
Sheffield alumnus and former UAE Federal National Council speaker; first female leader of a national assembly in the Arab world.

Lesley Garrett CBE
Hon DMus 1997
Renowned soprano singer and broadcaster, and former principal soprano with the English National Opera.

Andy Haldane
BA Accounting and Financial Management and Economics 1988, Hon LittD 2018
Sheffield alumnus and Chancellor from 2025; former Bank of England chief economist who sat on the UK government's Economic Advisory Council.

Jacqueline du Pré
Hon DMus 1980
Cellist widely cited among the 20th century's most talented, known for her iconic recording Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor.