Where and What Did They Study? The 2025 Nobel Prize Winners

Yesterday, the Nobel Prize Committee wrapped up its annual awards cycle by naming the winners of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2025 (Nobel Memorial Prize). The prize went to three individuals whose research and work show “how technology can drive sustained growth.”

The Nobel Memorial Prize was the final award in 2025, preceded by Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and the esteemed Nobel Peace Prize. Each year the winners are chosen from nominees made up of individuals, organizations, and groups that excel in these fields.

In addition to being experts in their fields, this year’s Nobel Laureates have something else in common – almost every winner was, at some point in their academic career, an international student or scholar and most hold PhDs in their respective fields. Here’s a look at the winners, where they came from, and where and what they studied.

What and where the winners studied

The Nobel Prize awards excellence and outstanding achievement in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economic sciences, and the promotion of peace. It's no surprise then that winners often hold advanced degrees in these fields, or that they often hail from prestigious research universities.

In fact, this year's laureats have degrees from seven of the ten universities that boast the most Nobel Prize winners. But a doctoral degree or an Ivy League diploma aren't the only things that lead to Nobel Prizes and the 2025 laureats show that determination, collaboration, and innovation are also major factors in accomplishing Nobel-worthy achievements.

Here's a look at the 2025 prize winners - where they come from, what they studied, and where they earned their degrees.

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 – awarded to María Corina Machado for her bravery and commitment to championing peace

María Corina Machado, a politician and activist from Venezuela, didn’t study abroad in the traditional sense. She completed her undergraduate degree in industrial engineering at Andres Bello Catholic University and a Master’s in finance at IESA in Venezuela.

However, in 2009, Machado was selected to be one of Yale’s World Fellows Program participants, a study program aimed at rising global leaders from various disciplines and hosted by the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University. She also participated in the Forum of Young Global Leaders, organized by the World Economic Forum, in 2005 and 2011.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 – awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis for experiments that revealed quantum physics in action

John Clarke, a physicist from the United Kingdom, studied natural sciences at Cambridge, graduating with both a BA and a PhD in Physics. After completing his doctoral studies, he moved to California for a post-doctoral position at the University of California, Berkeley where he later became a full professor.

Michel Devoret is a French physicist who studied telecommunications engineering at École nationale supérieure des télécommunications, earned a graduate diploma in quantum optics at the University of Orsay (now Paris-Saclay University), and completed his PhD at CEA Saclay. Like Clarke, Michel Devoret did his post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, which is where he, Clarke, and Martinis first collaborated.

John M. Martinis is the son of a Yugoslavian immigrant and was raised in California. He earned a BSc and a PhD in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. His PhD advisor was John Clarke and he collaborated with Michel Devoret during his PhD research.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 – awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for creating molecular constructions that can be used to tackle environmental challenges

Susumu Kitagawa, a chemist from Japan, may not have studied abroad but he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Texas A&M University and received an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Munich. He completed his undergraduate degree and his PhD in hydrocarbon chemistry at Kyoto University.

Similarly, Richard Robson, an English and Australian chemist, read chemistry at Oxford and did his postdoctoral research at Cal Tech and Stanford University.

In contrast, Omar M. Yaghi, grew up in Jordan after his family fled Gaza in 1948. He moved to the USA at the age of 15 to study. He attended Hudson Valley Community College, earned his undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany, and completed his PhD the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 – awarded to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries related to immune system regulation

Mary Brunkow, an American molecular biologist and immunologist spent the majority of her academic and professional career in the Pacific Northwest. She earned a BSc in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Washington and a PhD in molecular biology from Princeton University. Here Nobel Prize-winning work was also completed in Washington.

Fred Ramsdell, another American immunologist, did his BSc in biochemistry and cell biology at UC San Diego and completed a PhD in microbiology and immunology at UCLA. He worked with Brunkow at a biotech company in Washinton.

Shimon Sakaguchi, a Japanese immunologist, did his postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University. He had previously studied medicine at Kyoto University, where he also earned a PhD.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 – awarded to László Krasznahorkai for his “compelling and visionary oevre”

László Krasznahorkai is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter who is known for his postmodern and dystopian writing. Along with Machado, he’s the only other Nobel laureate of 2025 who has studied a field outside of his prize category. Krasznahorkai studied law at József Attila University (now known as the University of Szeged) in Szeged, Hungary. He also studied law, Hungarian, and cultural education at Eötvös Loránd University, where he earned his degree. He didn’t leave Hungary until 1987, when he became a Fellow at the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in West Berlin.

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 – awarded to Peter Howitt, Philippe Aghion, and Joel Mokyr for demonstrating the importance of innovation in driving sustained economic growth

Peter Howitt, a Canadian economist, earned his BA in economics from McGill University and a Master’s in economics at the University of Western Ontario. He went on to study at Northwestern University in Illinois, where he earned a PhD in economics. He was jointly awarded half of the Nobel Memorial Prize with Philippe Aghion.

Philippe Aghion, a French economist, completed his PhD in economics at Harvard University in the USA. His studied for his undergraduate and graduate degrees at ENS Cachan and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. In 1992 he published an article with Howitt that examined endogenous growth theory, which formed the basis for their Nobel Prize-winning work.

Joel Mokyr, an economic historian, was born in the Netherlands and raised in Israel. He studied economics and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned an MPhil and PhD in economics from Yale University. He was awarded the second half of the Nobel Memorial Prize for his work on the “prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.”

The importance of international collaboration

The 2025 Nobel Laureates demonstrate that international education and collaboration are essential to academic research and development. Across the prizes, we see that student mobility and international communication are key to groundbreaking discoveries.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine illustrates this well. The prize as awarded jointly to three researchers – two who had worked together in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and one based in Japan.

Sakaguchi, who had first discovered a new class of immune cells in 1995, was able to build on research completed by Brunkow and Ramsdell in 2001. These two separate discoveries, made a world apart, have now launched a new immunology field that could revolutionize the treatment of cancers and autoimmune disease.

What’s next?

The Nobel Prizes, which are awarded annually in October, was established in 1901 under the direction of the will of Swedish inventor and entrepreneur, Alfred Nobel. Nobel stated in his will that his fortune should be used to honor “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” Nobel also selected the categories for the prizes, which reflect his interests and business efforts.

While the academic prizes are awarded by Swedish institutions, Nobel’s will stipulated that he wanted the Peace Prize to be awarded by a committee selected by the Norwegian Parliament. The committee is a non-government organization and is not politically affiliated. As of 2025, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to 633 people and organizations and the USA has the most Nobel laureates with over 400 winners, followed by the UK and Germany.

The next Nobel Prize cycle will be awarded in October 2026. Nominees can be put forward by ‘eligible nominators’ in each category and nominations are not considered an endorsement by the Noble Prize. And, while PhDs in STEM fields are the most common degrees held by Nobel laureates, the Peace Prize winners are more diverse in their academic backgrounds and are more likely to win their award for work unrelated to their academic qualifications.