Politics, government and public service

• Robert Andrews — Congressman
• Joseph P. Bradley, Class of 1836 — Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
• Clifford P. Case, Class of 1925 — United States Senator
• Louis Freeh, Class of 1971 — Director of the FBI (1993–2001)
• Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Class of 1836 — Vice Presidential Candidate, United States Senator
• Garret A. Hobart, Class of 1863 — Industrialist, Vice President of the United States, (1897–1899)
• William Hughes, Class of 1955 — Congressman, Ambassador to Panama
• Robert Menendez — Congressman
• William Newell, Class of 1836 — Physician, Governor of New Jersey
• Hazel O'Leary — U.S. Secretary of Energy (1993–1997)
• David A. Morse, Class of 1929 — Director-General of ILO who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 on behalf of the ILO
• James Schureman, Class of 1775 — Continental Congress, Senator.
• Robert Torricelli, Class of 1974 — United States Senator, Congressman

Business

• Bernard Marcus, Class of 1951 — Founder of the Home Depot
• Leonor F. Loree, Class of 1877 — President of the Pennsylvania Railroad
• Christopher D. Thieme, Class of 2002 — Chairman of the Newcastle Group

Medicine

• Clifton R. Lacy, Class of 1975 — New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services
• William Trager, Class of 1930 — developed new treatements for Malaria
• Selman Waksman, Class of 1915 — discovered 22 antibotics, best known for streptomycin. Nobel laureate.
• H. Boyd Woodruff, Class of 1939/Graduate School 1942 — discovered antibiotic actinomycin.

Academia

• Carol Christ, Class of 1966 — President of Smith College
• Milton Friedman, Class of 1932 — Economist, Nobel Laureate
• William H. S. Demarest, Class of 1883 — President of Rutgers University
• Philip Milledoler Brett, Class of 1892 — President of Rutgers University, Successful Corporate Attorney
• Carl Woodward, Class of 1914 — President of University of Rhode Island

Science & Engineering

• Simeon DeWitt, Class of 1776 — Geographer for George Washington and Contintenal Army during the American Revolution
• Ramzi Yousef — Terrorist, involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (studied Chemical Engineering, briefly)
• Nidal Ayyad — Terrorist, involved in 1993 World Trade Center bombing (graduated in Chemical Engineering )
• Peter C. Schultz, Class of 1964 — co-inventor of fiber optics
• Stanley N. Cohen, Class of 1956 — geneticist, pioneer in gene splicing

Arts & letters

• Martin Agronsky, Class of 1936 — Journalist
• Samuel Blackman, Class of 1927 — Journalist
• Alfred Joyce Kilmer, Class of 1908 (did not graduate) — poet, died in France during World War I.
• Robert Pinsky, Class of 1962 — Poet Laureate of the United States, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
• George Segal, GSNB 1963 — Sculptor
• Michael Shaara, Class of 1951 — author of The Killer Angels and Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Entertainment and sports

• Mario Batali, Class of 1982 — Chef, Restauranteur, Television Host (Molto Mario)
• Avery Brooks, Class of 1973 — Actor, Educator
• Asia Carrera (born Jessica Bennett), Class of 1995 — Porn Star (who majored in Business and Japanese).
• Kristin Davis, Class of 1987, — Actress (Sex and the City)
• Calista Flockhart, Class of 1988 — Actress (stage, television, and motion pictures) (The Birdcage)(Ally McBeal)
• James Gandolfini, Class of 1983 — Actor (The Sopranos)
• Oswald "Ozzie" Nelson, Class of 1927 — Musician and Actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet)
• Paris Qualles, Class of 1974 — Screenwriter
• Paul Robeson, Class of 1919 — Athlete, Actor, Singer, Political Activist
• Raymond Stark, Class of 1935 — Film Producer
• David Stern, Class of 1963 — Commissioner of the National Basketball Association
• Jeffrey Torborg, Class of 1963 — Baseball Player, Coach, Manager (New York Mets, Florida Marlins, and Sports Announcer.
• Jim Valvano, Class of 1967 — Basketball Coach, ABC Sports Commentator
• David "Sonny" Werblin, Class of 1931 — Talent Agent, Sports Promoter, and Entrepreneur.