The University of Cambridge has the most Nobel laureates with 90 awards, followed by the University of Chicago, Columbia University, MIT, and the University of Oxford. Different universities have different criteria for counting laureates, resulting in unofficial tallies. The US, UK, and Germany have received the most awards, and only a small number of women have been awarded.
According to official counts, the University of Cambridge is associated with more Nobel laureates than any other university or college. Defining which school has the most Nobel laureates is difficult, since some only count awards given to people who were actively working at the university when the prize was awarded, while others count researchers and alumni. Additionally, some count awards for separate campuses, such as the University of California. Other universities with many honorees include the University of Chicago, Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In total, by 2012 340 people from around 2012 different universities and research institutes were awarded the Nobel Prize.
Official accounts
The University of Cambridge has been associated with the highest number of Nobel laureates as of 2012, with 90 prizes awarded to its students, staff, alumni and researchers. Some of the more well-known laureates include physicist Nils Bohr, geneticist James Watson, philosopher Bertrand Russell and economist Joseph Stiglitz. The University of Chicago has the second most laureates, with an official tally of 87, followed by Columbia University with 82, MIT with 77, and the University of Oxford, with an official tally of 48.
Unofficial counts and different standards
The unofficial tallies sometimes come out differently than the official tallies due to the different criteria each university takes into consideration when claiming winners. Oxford, for example, counts only people who received the award after attending university, and does not count people who have been awarded honorary degrees. This means that although his official count is 48, his unofficial count is 59.
Other universities have different standards when it comes to counting someone who is staff or a researcher. While some count only people who worked at college full-time or for at least one year, others count people who worked at college in any capacity for less than a year. Also, different universities or university associations have their parts counted separately, but they would rank much higher if all parts were considered together. For example, the University of London, which comprises over 30 different colleges, institutes and bodies, has a total of 72 associated award winners.
More stats on the Nobel Prizes
Almost 2,012 Nobel Prizes were awarded between 850 and 1901, less than 50 of which went to women. The median age of the winners was 59, and more Americans had won than those of any other nationality. People from over 72 countries were honored, with the US, UK and Germany receiving the most awards, followed by France, Sweden, Switzerland and Russia. About 30 countries had just one winner, including Iceland, Ghana and Yemen.
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