From the mid – nineteenth century to the present, Rensselaer graduates have played prominent roles in the United States Navy, including over 70 graduates who achieved flag officer rank—commodores (now an obsolete rank) and admirals. Many of these officers were members of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), with the primary mission of supporting the Fleet and U.S. Marine Corps shore establishment by providing professional facilities engineering services and management at all Navy and Marine Corps facilities worldwide. CEC officers served with the Bureau of Yards and Docks (now the Naval Facilities Engineering Command) and the Seabees. More recent graduates of flag officer rank have followed varying career paths, including aviation, submarines, and supply and logistics.
| Rank | Name | Degree | Date of Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral | Lima e Silva de Moraes, Octavio | M. MG | 1957 |
| Admiral | Jones, Horace B. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1932, 1933 |
| Admiral | Reinman, Kenneth J. | B.S., C.H.E. | 1971 |
| Admiral | Zlatoper, Ronald J. | B.S., D.E.H. | 1963, 1995 |
| Vice Admiral | Easterling, Crawford A. | B.E.E., M.S., E.A.A. | 1951 |
| Vice Admiral | Fay, Albert J. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1932, 1933 |
| Vice Admiral | Manning, John J. | C.E. | 1915 |
| Vice Admiral | Short, Wallace B. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1927, 1929 |
| Vice Admiral | Strain, Charles, L. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1929, 1930 |
| Vice Admiral | Thomas, Karl | MGT | 1986 |
| Rear Admiral | Bartlett, James V. | B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1944, 1945 |
| Rear Admiral | Bottorff, David E. | B.C.E. | 1961 |
| Rear Admiral | Brown, Scott Michael | Eng. Phys | 1991 |
| Rear Admiral | Bruns, Henry F. | C.E. | 1914 |
| Rear Admiral | BryerJoyner, Susan M. | Materials Engineering | 1991 |
| Rear Admiral | Chambers, Frank T. | C.E. | 1892 |
| Rear Admiral | Church, Gaylord | C.E. | 1913 |
| Rear Admiral | Church, William C. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1938, 1939 |
| Rear Admiral | Clark, Henry G. | C.E. | 1934 |
| Rear Admiral | Clements, N.W. | B.C.E. | 1951 |
| Rear Admiral | Combs, Lewis B. | C.E. | 1916 |
| Rear Admiral | Conner, Donald L. | B.C.E. | 1958 |
| Rear Admiral | Coxe, Lewis C. | B.S., B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1938, 1939 |
| Rear Admiral | Davis, James R. | B.S., B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1938, 1939 |
| Rear Admiral | Doebler, James C. | M.E. | 1969 |
| Rear Admiral | Drustrup, Norman J. | B.S., B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1937, 1938 |
| Rear Admiral | Endicott, Mordecai T. | C.E. | 1868 |
| Rear Admiral | Fisher, John R. | M.C.E. | 1950 |
| Rear Admiral | Fraser, John C. Jr. | B.C.E. | 1959 |
| Rear Admiral | Guimond, Richard J. | B.S., M.E., M.S., N.E. | 1970 |
| Rear Admiral | Heid, Charles C. | M.C.E. | 1955 |
| Rear Admiral | Hill, Clarence A. Jr. | B.S., M. MG E. | 1957 |
| Rear Admiral | Hoffman, Chauncey F. | tbd | 1953 |
| Rear Admiral | Hopkins, Lewis A. | M.S.M.E. | 1947 |
| Rear Admiral | Husband, Alexander C. | B.S.,C.E., M.C.E. | 1939, 1940 |
| Rear Admiral | Iselin, Donald G. | B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1948 |
| Rear Admiral | Ives, Jon R. | B.C.E. | 1961 |
| Rear Admiral | Jelley, Joseph F., Jr. | B.S.,C.E., M.C.E. | 1931, 1932 |
| Rear Admiral | Jellison, James L. | M. MS | 1964 |
| Rear Admiral | Jesberg, Ronald H. | B.S. | 1957 |
| Rear Admiral | Jones, John P. | B.C.E. | 1957 |
| Rear Admiral | Jones, Raymond G. Jr. | M.S. | 1970 |
| Rear Admiral | Jortberg, Robert F. | B.C.E., M. MG E. | 1951 |
| Rear Admiral | Klemm, William R. | M.B.A. | 1974 |
| Rear Admiral | Lalor, Foster M. Jr. | B.S., B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1947, 1948 |
| Rear Admiral | Lyden, Michael J. | B.S. | 1978 |
| Rear Admiral | Manning, Kenneth P. | B.M.E. | 1963 |
| Rear Admiral | Marschall, Albert R. | B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1948 |
| Rear Admiral | Matthews, James T. | C.E. | 1918 |
| Rear Admiral | Meade, Robert H. | C.E. | 1929 |
| Rear Admiral | Montgomery, James W. | M. MG | 1959 |
| Rear Admiral | Montoya, Benjamin F. | B.C.E. | 1960 |
| Rear Admiral | Murdoch, James A. | B.S. | 1980 |
| Rear Admiral | Osborn, James B. | A.B.,B.S.,E.E., M.M.E. | 1948 |
| Rear Admiral | Parks, Charles W. | C.E. | 1884 |
| Rear Admiral | Perry, John R. | C.E., M.C.E. | 1926, 1927 |
| Rear Admiral | Prindle, Franklin C. | tbd | 1863 |
| Rear Admiral | Rae, Charles, W. | C.E. | 1866 |
| Rear Admiral | Robb, James A. | B.S. | 1972 |
| Rear Admiral | Rohrbach, Richard | B.C.E. | 1965 |
| Rear Admiral | Rousseau, Harry H. | C.E. | 1891 |
| Rear Admiral | Seabury, Claire C. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1928, 1929 |
| Rear Admiral | Sears, Kenneth P. | B.C.E. | 1950 |
| Rear Admiral | Seufer, Paul E. | C.E., M.S. | 1935 |
| Rear Admiral | Sihler, William | B.S.,C.E., M.C.E. | 1928, 1929 |
| Rear Admiral | Smith, Kirby | C.E. | 1910 |
| Rear Admiral | Smith, Norman M. | B.A., C.E.H. | 1909, 1939 |
| Rear Admiral | Spedero Jr., Paul Carl | M.E. | 1990 |
| Rear Admiral | Storms, James G. III | B. MG, M.MG | 1954, 1964 |
| Rear Admiral | Taylor, Henry G. | C.E. | 1913 |
| Rear Admiral | Thiele, Edward H. | B.S., B. MG E. | 1949 |
| Rear Admiral | Vanpoots, Michael Richard | B.S. Eng. Physics | 1995 |
| Rear Admiral | Walton, Albion W. Jr. | B.S., B.C.E. | 1948 |
| Rear Admiral | Wilson, James D. | C.E. | 1921 |
| Rear Admiral | Wiman, Kenneth G. | B.C.E. | 1957 |
| Rear Admiral | Wojnar, Theodore J. | B.S., B.C.E. | 1959 |
| Rear Admiral | Wooding, Robert R. | B.S.,B.C.E., M.C.E. | 1944, 1945 |
| Rear Admiral | Zobel, William M. | B.C.E. | 1955 |
| Commodore | Fink, B.W. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1926, 1927 |
| Commodore | Hunter, Archibald D. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1930, 1931 |
| Commodore | Needham, H.P. | B.S., C.E., M.C.E. | 1926, 1927 |
