A scientist who dedicated their studies to the biology, culture, and history of the vast array of sentient races and species throughout the galaxy was known as a sentientologist (also known as a sapientologist or an anthropologist). One of the primary hubs for sentientological research was the Sentient Studies Department at the University of Sanbra. Additionally, academics from the University of Coruscant significantly impacted this area of study. During the time of the New Republic, a diverse group of scholars from the University of Coruscant formed a committee responsible for categorizing species into sentient, semi-sentient, and non-sentient classifications.
During the Imperial period, notable sentientologists included:
- Obo Rin, an Imperial official who, with Darth Vader's backing, authored two versions of Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy
- Ditwar Logas, a well-known academic whom Obo Rin asserted to have collaborated with (although these assertions were questionable)
- Tem Eliss, an Iyra professor at the University of Sanbra who penned The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life
- Senior Anthropologist Mammon Hoole, an independent Shi'ido researcher and the primary contributor to The Essential Guide to Alien Species