List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1972
List of Guggenheim Fellowship winners for 1972, have been awarded annually since 1925, by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts."
| Fellow | Category | Field of Study |
| Gary Keith Ackers | Natural Sciences | Molecular & Cellular Biology |
| Waldemar Adam | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Ward Sykes Allen | Humanities | English Literature |
| Svetlana Alpers | Humanities | Fine Arts Research |
| Theodore M. Andersson | Humanities | German & Scandinavian Literature |
| Alfred Appel | Humanities | American Literature |
| Lorenzo Francisco Aristarain | Natural Sciences | Earth Science |
| Jorge Arriagada Cousin | Creative Arts | Music Composition |
| Kenneth J. Arrow | Social Sciences | Economics |
| Harold Leslie Atwood | Natural Sciences | Neuroscience |
| Albert Bandura | Social Sciences | Psychology |
| Peter S. Beagle | Fiction | |
| Robert Beavers | Creative Arts | Film |
| Harumi Befu | Anthropology & Cultural Studies | |
| Gerard Henri Béhague | Folklore & Popular Culture | |
| Morris Beja | Humanities | English Literature |
| George Bekefi | Applied Mathematics | |
| Daniel Bell | Sociology | |
| J. Bowyer Bell | Political Science | |
| Kenneth Bernard | Drama & Performance Art | |
| Robert Berner | Earth Science | |
| Merton Ronald Bernfield | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| R. Stephen Berry | Chemistry | |
| Richard Bersohn | Chemistry | |
| Edwin L. Bierman | Medicine & Health | |
| Roger William Birnbaum | Medicine & Health | |
| Carla Bley | Music Composition | |
| Seymour Boardman | Fine Arts | |
| Mel Bochner | Fine Arts | |
| Charles M. Brand | Medieval History | |
| Edward Brandabur | English Literature | |
| Paul Richard Brass | Political Science | |
| Charles Chester Brinton | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Kenelm O. L. Burridge | Anthropology & Cultural Studies | |
| Geoffrey L. Bursill-Hall | Linguistics | |
| Friedrich H. Busse | Astronomy—Astrophysics | |
| James F. Cahill | Fine Arts Research | |
| Robert Chilton Calfee | Psychology | |
| Harry M. Callahan | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Herbert B. Callen | Physics | |
| Fernando Cardoso | Natural Sciences | Mathematics |
| Allan M. Cartter | Education | |
| Mary Ann Caws | French Literature | |
| F. Stuart Chapin | Architecture, Planning, & Design | |
| Jule Gregory Charney | Earth Science | |
| Stanley Coben | U.S. History | |
| David Robbins Coffin | Architecture, Planning, & Design | |
| John Ireland Collins | Fine Arts | |
| Michael G. Cooke | English Literature | |
| Morton Corn | Medicine & Health | |
| Daniel MacGhie Cory | American Literature | |
| James Melville Cox | American Literature | |
| Jorge V. Crisci | Plant Sciences | |
| Anne Greet Cushing | Humanities | French Literature |
| Donald Davie | Poetry | |
| Christopher Davis | Fiction | |
| Richard Whitlock Davis | British History | |
| Peter Rodney Day | Plant Sciences | |
| Jaques Marc de Caso | Fine Arts Research | |
| Liliane de Cock | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Carl N. Degler | U.S. History | |
| Daniel Deykin | Medicine & Health | |
| Robert Di Domenica | Music Composition | |
| Alexander Anthony Di Lella | Religion | |
| Dominick Di Meo | Fine Arts | |
| David L. Dilcher | Plant Sciences | |
| E. L. Doctorow | Fiction | |
| Charles M. Dodge | Music Composition | |
| James M. Drew | Music Composition | |
| William A. Dunas | Creative Arts | Choreography |
| John Stuart Edwards | Organismic Biology & Ecology | |
| Thomas Robert Edwards | English Literature | |
| John Elderfield | Humanities | Fine Arts Research |
| Richard E. Ellis | Social Sciences | Law |
| Stephen Thompson Emlen | Natural Sciences | Organismic Biology & Ecology |
| Terence Emmons | Humanities | Russian History |
| Frank R. Ervin | Natural Sciences | Neuroscience |
| Manuel Alberto Escobar Sambrano | Humanities | Linguistics |
| Brian Murray Fagan | Social Sciences | Anthropology & Cultural Studies |
| John William Faller | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Solomon Feferman | Natural Sciences | Mathematics |
| Walter Ferro | Creative Arts | Fine Arts |
| Albert Fishlow | Humanities | Economic History |
| Jerry A. Fodor | Social Sciences | Psychology |
| Maria Irene Fornes | Creative Arts | Drama & Performance Art |
| Paula Fox | Creative Arts | Fiction |
| William Robert Frazer | Natural Sciences | Physics |
| Karl Frederick Freed | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Herbert Freeman | Natural Sciences | Computer Science |
| Edward Fort Fry | Humanities | Fine Arts Research |
| Charlotte Furth | Humanities | East Asian Studies |
| Ernest J. Gaines | Fiction | |
| G. Karl Galinsky | Classics | |
| Robert E. Gallman | Economic History | |
| Juan García Ponce | Fiction | |
| Peter D. A. Garnsey | Classics | |
| Robert E. Garrison | Earth Science | |
| Jack Porter Gibbs | Sociology | |
| Eleanor Jack Gibson | Psychology | |
| James Ronald Gibson | Geography & Environmental Studies | |
| Sander Lawrence Gilman | German & Scandinavian Literature | |
| Edward Giobbi | Fine Arts | |
| Henry H. Glassie | Folklore & Popular Culture | |
| Herman Randolph Gluck | Mathematics | |
| Arthur Stanley Goldberger | Economics | |
| Gerson Goldhaber | Physics | |
| DeWitt Stetten Goodman | Medicine & Health | |
| Richard Edwin Goodman | Engineering | |
| Robert Arthur Goodnough | Fine Arts | |
| Robert Gordis | Religion | |
| William Edwin Gordon | Astronomy—Astrophysics | |
| Daniel Gorenstein | Mathematics | |
| Irving I. Gottesman | Psychology | |
| Oleg Grabar | Anthropology & Cultural Studies | |
| Patricia Albjerg Graham | Education | |
| Richard Graham | Latin American Literature | |
| Harry B. Gray | Chemistry | |
| James Joseph Griffin | Physics | |
| Robert B. Griffiths | Physics | |
| Ted Robert Gurr | Political Science | |
| Nathan G. Hale | Humanities | U.S. History |
| Charles Michael Hampden-Turner | Psychology | |
| Harold John Hanham | British History | |
| Robert William Hanning | Literary Criticism | |
| Marc Jules Prosper Hanrez | French Literature | |
| A. Brooks Harris | Physics | |
| Wilson Harris | General Nonfiction | |
| Louis Hartz | Political Science | |
| Moshe Held | Near Eastern Studies | |
| Peter Heller | Physics | |
| Maxwell F. Hendler | Fine Arts | |
| Nathan Irving Hentoff | General Nonfiction | |
| Donald Denison Hester | Economics | |
| Michael G. Hill | Geography & Environmental Studies | |
| William Innes Homer | Fine Arts Research | |
| David Lawrence Huber | Physics | |
| Ronald William Hunt | Fine Arts Research | |
| Samuel P. Huntington | Political Science | |
| George Huppert | French History | |
| James Robert de Jager Jackson | English Literature | |
| Jerald W. Jacquard | Fine Arts | |
| Keith Jarrett | Music Composition | |
| Luis A. Jiménez de Asúa | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Charles Sidney Johnson | Chemistry | |
| Lester Johnson | Fine Arts | |
| Jiri Jonas | Chemistry | |
| Russell Lewis Jones | Plant Sciences | |
| Richard Isaac Joseph | Physics | |
| Kenneth Bradley Josephson | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Akira Kaji | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| James Bailey Kaler | Astronomy—Astrophysics | |
| Neville Robert Kallenbach | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Leon R. Kass | Organismic Biology & Ecology | |
| David R. Kassoy | Applied Mathematics | |
| Alex Katz | Fine Arts | |
| Jerrold Jacob Katz | Philosophy | |
| Joseph Katz | American Literature | |
| George B. Kauffman | History of Science & Technology | |
| Paul Kay | Anthropology & Cultural Studies | |
| Robert Hale Kaylor | Creative Arts | Film |
| John F. W. Keana | Chemistry | |
| Leon Morris Keer | Applied Mathematics | |
| Suzanne Keller | Sociology | |
| Hans Janos Kende | Plant Sciences | |
| Herbert Leon Kessler | Fine Arts Research | |
| Harry Kesten | Mathematics | |
| Henry S. Kingdon | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Donald Ervin Knuth | Computer Science | |
| Stephen Edward Koss | British History | |
| Jan K. Kott | Theatre Arts | |
| Fernando Krahn | Creative Arts | Film |
| Thomas Kranidas | English Literature | |
| Rockne Krebs | Fine Arts | |
| Joseph B. Lambert | Chemistry | |
| William Wilson Lambert | Psychology | |
| Bernard Langlais | Fine Arts | |
| Ira Marvin Lapidus | Medieval History | |
| Jacob Lassner | Near Eastern Studies | |
| Standish Dyer Lawder | Creative Arts | Film |
| Luis López Loza | Fine Arts | |
| Wilford Leach | Drama & Performance Art | |
| Naomi Lebowitz | Literary Criticism | |
| Winfred P. Lehmann | Linguistics | |
| Robert Lekachman | Economics | |
| Gerhard E. Lenski | Sociology | |
| Daniel Levine | U.S. History | |
| Paul A. Libby | Applied Mathematics | |
| Elliott H. Lieb | Mathematics | |
| Robert J. Lieber | Political Science | |
| Michael Aaron Lieberman | Engineering | |
| Stanley Lieberson | Sociology | |
| Antonín J. Liehm | Film, Video, & Radio Studies | |
| Drahomíra N. Liehm-Novotná | Film, Video, & Radio Studies | |
| Gene Elden Likens | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Lewis P. Lipsitt | Psychology | |
| Lar Lubovitch | Creative Arts | Choreography |
| David Cooke MacDougall | Creative Arts | Film |
| Wilferd Madelung | Near Eastern Studies | |
| Edwin Wilson Marrs | English Literature | |
| Jerome Max | Drama & Performance Art | |
| Donald Stuart McClure | Chemistry | |
| Fred W. McDarrah | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Bruce A. McFadden | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Donald Lee McGrady | Spanish & Portuguese Literature | |
| Henry P. McKean | Mathematics | |
| Basil Vincent McKoy | Chemistry | |
| Ann E. McMillan | Music Composition | |
| James Alan McPherson | Fiction | |
| Standish Meacham | British History | |
| Alan Haskell Mehler | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Chiang Chung Mei | Applied Mathematics | |
| Carlos Meléndez | Iberian & Latin American History | |
| Anne Kostelanetz Mellor | English Literature | |
| Karl H. Menges | Near Eastern Studies | |
| Vivian H. Mercier | Literary Criticism | |
| Thomas Charles Merigan | Medicine & Health | |
| John Mersereau Jr. | Slavic Literature | |
| Stanley Milgram | Psychology | |
| David Harry Miller | Physics | |
| Rupert Griel Miller | Statistics | |
| John A. Mills | Theatre Arts | |
| Roger Laell Minick | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Charles William Misner | Astronomy—Astrophysics | |
| Jessica Mitford | General Nonfiction | |
| Meredith Monk | Music Composition | |
| David Montgomery | U.S. History | |
| Robert S. Montgomery | Drama & Performance Art | |
| José Ricardo Morales Malva | Drama & Performance Art | |
| Ciriaco Morón-Arroyo | Spanish & Portuguese Literature | |
| Janel Mulder Mueller | English Literature | |
| Anthony A. Newcomb | Music Research | |
| R. Bruce Nicklas | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Douglass C. North | Economic History | |
| Michael John O'Brien | Humanities | Classics |
| Jeffrey O'Connell | Social Sciences | Law |
| George Andrew Olah | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Laurie D. Olin | Humanities | Architecture, Planning, & Design |
| Alan V. Oppenheim | Natural Sciences | Computer Science |
| Dennis A. Oppenheim | Creative Arts | Fine Arts |
| José Miguel Oviedo | Humanities | Spanish & Portuguese Literature |
| Morton David Paley | English Literature | |
| Jacob Palis | Mathematics | |
| Nicanor Parra | Poetry | |
| César Paternosto | Fine Arts | |
| Edward Ralph Pincus | Creative Arts | Film |
| Peter Plagens | Creative Arts | Fine Arts |
| David William Plath | Anthropology & Cultural Studies | |
| Eleo Pomare | Creative Arts | Choreography |
| Thomas Porett | Creative Arts | Photography |
| James L. Prestini | Fine Arts | |
| Mark Ptashne | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Donald Edward Queller | Humanities | Renaissance History |
| Héctor Quintanar Prieto | Creative Arts | Music Composition |
| Ralph Wilson Rader | Literary Criticism | |
| Robert A. Rapp | Applied Mathematics | |
| Rima Drell Reck | French Literature | |
| Brian Robert Reid | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| John David Reppy | Physics | |
| Constantino Reyes-Valerio | Fine Arts Research | |
| Dennis Daniel Riley | Music Composition | |
| Forrest G. Robinson | Creative Arts | Biography |
| Dorothea Rockburne | Creative Arts | Fine Arts |
| William R. Roff | East Asian Studies | |
| Peter Philip Rogers | Architecture, Planning, & Design | |
| Michael Paul Rogin | Political Science | |
| Theodore Sonny Rollins | Music Composition | |
| John Walter Root | Chemistry | |
| John Max Rosenfield | Fine Arts Research | |
| Sheldon Rothblatt | British History | |
| Clyde de Loache Ryals | English Literature | |
| Rainer K. Sachs | Mathematics | |
| Ruth Sager | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Edward W. Said | Literary Criticism | |
| Rémy Gilbert Saisselin | French Literature | |
| Roger B. Salomon | American Literature | |
| Peter Gerald Satir | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Dieter Söll | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Kenneth F. Schaffner | Philosophy | |
| R. Walter Schlesinger | Molecular & Cellular Biology | |
| Gerald Schubert | Earth Science | |
| Stuart Carl Schwartz | Applied Mathematics | |
| Ronald Fraser Scott | Plant Sciences | |
| David N. Seidman | Natural Sciences | Applied Mathematics |
| Philip Selznick | Sociology | |
| Hsieh Wen Shen | Applied Mathematics | |
| Yuen-Ron Shen | Physics | |
| Abner Shimony | Philosophy | |
| Lee S. Shulman | Education | |
| Silvia C. Sigal | Sociology | |
| Robert J. Silbey | Chemistry | |
| Charles Simic | Poetry | |
| Thomas Moro Simpson | Philosophy | |
| Carlos E. Sluzki | Medicine & Health | |
| Keith A. Smith | Creative Arts | Photography |
| W. D. Snodgrass | Poetry | |
| Michael Snow | Creative Arts | Film |
| Rolf M. Steffen | Physics | |
| Jerome Leon Stein | Economics | |
| Jeffrey I. Steinfeld | Chemistry | |
| Gerard J. Stephenson | Physics | |
| Saul Sternberg | Psychology | |
| Avrum Stroll | Philosophy | |
| James Sullivan | Fine Arts | |
| Mervyn Wilfred Susser | Natural Sciences | Medicine & Health |
| Donald Stewart Taylor | Humanities | English Literature |
| Serge Nicholas Timasheff | Natural Sciences | Molecular & Cellular Biology |
| Julius Tobias | Creative Arts | Fine Arts |
| James D. Tracy | Humanities | Renaissance History |
| Roy E. Travis | Creative Arts | Music Composition |
| Harry C. Triandis | Social Sciences | Psychology |
| Thomas Laurence Trueman | Natural Sciences | Physics |
| Donald Lawson Turcotte | Natural Sciences | Earth Science |
| Elliot Turiel | Social Sciences | Education |
| Betty Mack Twarog | Natural Sciences | Neuroscience |
| Victor Twersky | Natural Sciences | Applied Mathematics |
| Joan Connelly Ullman | Humanities | Iberian & Latin American History |
| Irwin Unger | Humanities | U.S. History |
| Marshall R. Urist | Natural Sciences | Medicine & Health |
| Charles W. Van Atta | Natural Sciences | Applied Mathematics |
| Mona Van Duyn | Creative Arts | Poetry |
| César Alejandro Vapñarsky | Social Sciences | Sociology |
| Thomas Vargish | Humanities | English Literature |
| Orlando Villas Bôas | Social Sciences | Anthropology & Cultural Studies |
| Raymond B. Waddington | Humanities | English Literature |
| Diane Wakoski | Creative Arts | Poetry |
| S. David Webb | Natural Sciences | Earth Science |
| Herbert Weiner | Social Sciences | Psychology |
| Holmes Hinkley Welch | Humanities | East Asian Studies |
| Joe L. White | Natural Sciences | Plant Sciences |
| James T. Whitehead | Creative Arts | Fiction |
| Mark Robert Willcott | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| George Huntston Williams | Humanities | Religion |
| Mary Lou Williams | Creative Arts | Music Composition |
| T. Ffrancon Williams | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Lanford Wilson | Creative Arts | Drama & Performance Art |
| Theodore Allen Wilson | Humanities | U.S. History |
| Allan Charles Wilson | Natural Sciences | Molecular & Cellular Biology |
| Geoffrey L. Winningham | Creative Arts | Photography |
| Geoffrey Wolff | Creative Arts | Fiction |
| Sheldon S. Wolin | Social Sciences | Political Science |
| Oliver W. Wolters | Humanities | East Asian Studies |
| John Martin Wood | Natural Sciences | Chemistry |
| Sidney Yip | Natural Sciences | Physics |
| Herbert F. York | Natural Sciences | Physics |
| Sol Yurick | Creative Arts | Fiction |
| Arnold M. Zwicky | Humanities | Linguistics |
United States and Canadian fellows
- Allan Wilson, Biochemistry – Molecular biology
- Kenneth Josephson - Photography
Latin American Fellows
- Constantino Reyes-Valerio - art historian
- Fernando Krahn - animator/cartoonists