“It’ s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll.” Any successful rocker will tell you that it takes years of practice, hard work, and maybe even some luck if you want to reach the top of the music charts. Surprisingly, some of those famed rockers also found themselves interested in other subjects besides music. Some rockers were college graduates before they found fame, and others went back to school after their fame to pursue degrees in engineering, literature, science, and other fields. Here is a list of ten popular rock musicians that also have impressive college degrees.
Related: Ten Famous and (Sometimes) Strange Musical Alter Egos
10 Tom Scholz
Tom Scholz is the founder and only remaining original member of the American rock band Boston. The multi-talented musician can play the guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, but the rocker is also an MIT-trained engineer. Scholz earned his master’s degree at MIT, and after that, he went on to work for Polaroid as a product design engineer. While working for the company, he built a personal recording studio in the basement of his apartment.
During this time, Scholz started writing and producing music, which ultimately led to the creation of Boston. Scholz said that he had no interest in rock and roll music when first attending MIT, but bands such as the Yardbirds and Kinks opened his mind to the genre of music. If he had never earned his degree at MIT, we probably wouldn’t have hits like “More Than a Feeling” and “Peace of Mind.”[1]
9 Gregg Graffin
In 1980, Gregg Graffin co-founded the punk rock band Bad Religion. He is the lead vocalist and the only constant member of the band that is known for its politically charged lyrics. Graffin also embarked on a solo career in 1997 and released three solo albums. He isn’t just a hardcore rocker, though; he is also an evolutionary biologist and has lectured several courses on the subject.
Graffin earned his master’s degree in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He then continued his studies at Cornell University and earned a Ph.D. in zoology. Graffin briefly returned to both universities for short teaching stints in natural science courses. He has also published several books about science and religion.[2]
8 Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the band Weezer. The American rock band produced hits such as “Say It Ain’t So,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Island in the Sun.” Cuomo wanted to be more than just a musician after getting bored on tour, so he enrolled at Harvard after the band’s debut album was released. He eventually dropped out, but he decided to return to the Ivy League school after their album Make Believe. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in English in 2006.[3]
7 Jeff Schroeder
Jeff Schroeder rocked out with the Smashing Pumpkins from 2007 to 2023. He is the former guitarist of the alternative rock band and the third-longest-serving member of the band. He was also a member of the Violet Burning and the Lassie Foundation bands.
Before joining the Smashing Pumpkins, Schroeder worked to earn a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his research focused on East Asian and American literature. The diverse education provided him with a better understanding of cultural and literary traditions that helped influence the way he looked at music.[4]
6 James Williamson
In the 1970s, James Williamson started touring with rock band The Stooges as their guitarist. Williamson co-wrote many of the band’s songs during this time with the lead singer, Iggy Pop. The Stooges disbanded in 1974 after the members wanted to chase new opportunities. Williamson would take this opportunity to pursue a higher education degree.
After The Stooges split, he continued to work with Pop as a songwriter and producer. Williamson continued this work for about a year before he decided to leave the music business entirely after disagreements with Pop, other musicians, and others in the industry. He immediately enrolled at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and earned an electrical engineering degree.
He then moved to Silicon Valley and began designing microchips for 15 years before becoming Sony’s vice president of technical standards. When Willaimson retired from Sony, he found himself back on stage playing the guitar after receiving a surprising call from Iggy Pop asking to join him on tour.[5]
5 Tom Morello
One of the most popular metal rock bands of the 1990s was Rage Against the Machine, which was founded by Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello. Morello is best known for his creative guitar playing and strong political views. He was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023 as a member of Rage Against the Machine.
Morello was also a member of the bands Audioslave, Prophets of Rage, and Lock Up. He was even once a touring member of Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Before becoming a famous rocker, Morello graduated from the prestigious Harvard University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. His degree helped shape his political views and the music that he wrote.[6]
4 Art Garfunkel
One half of the folk-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel was singer Art Garfunkel. The pair released hit songs such as “Mrs. Robinson,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “The Boxer.” The pair eventually split, but Garfunkel saw success in a solo career with one top 10 hit, three top 20 hits, and six top 40 hits. He and Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
However, before his rock fame began, Garfunkel initially attended Columbia University in New York, where he majored in architecture. In 1965, he earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from the same university, followed by a master’s degree in mathematics education. Surprisingly, he completed these tough tasks during the height of Simon & Garfunkel’s career.[7]
3 Milo Aukerman
Milo Aukerman joined the band Descendents after the release of their first single, but he only stayed with the band until the release of their first album, Milo Goes to College. He then decided to pursue a degree in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego. After leaving college, he would find himself going back and forth between the band and biochemistry.
He rejoined the Descendents several times over the next few years after college, but he made the choice to permanently leave again after their tour finished in 1987. He didn’t decide to officially rejoin the band again until 1995. After the next album’s tour, he returned to his career in molecular biology. He would rejoin the band intermittently, but he made the decision to leave his career in 2016, citing burnout, and would rejoin the band full-time as a singer and songwriter.[8]
2 Dexter Holland
Dexter Holland was the co-founder, singer, and songwriter for the popular punk-rock band the Offspring. Before the band found success, Holland was looking to be a scholar of mathematics. He graduated from high school as class valedictorian, and he attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in molecular biology.
He suspended his studies, though, after the Offspring found success. They are still known as one of the most popular punk bands of the 1990s, with more than 40 million records sold from their 10 studio albums. Their album Smash gained the band mainstream success and went six times multi-platinum, and their songs have been used in several movies and TV shows. Holland eventually resumed his studies and earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology in 2017.[9]
1 Brian May
Brian May is most known for being the co-founder and lead guitarist for the universally-known band Queen, but he is also a record producer, animal rights activist, and astrophysicist. In 1968, May graduated from Imperial College London with a bachelor’s degree in physics. He stepped away from completing his Ph.D. to pursue his music career, which would turn out to be a very good decision. With hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” We Will Rock You,” and “We Are the Champions,” the band was sure to find fame.
Queen had 53 Top 40 singles, and six of them reached the number 1 spot. The band was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
May eventually returned to school and completed his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007. He has authored books on astronomy, was appointed chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University for about five years, and went on to collaborate with other astrophysicists to analyze data from NASA. May has truly lived a life full of rock and science.[10]