Colleges University of Wisconsin—Madison

UW-Madison www.wisc.edu

University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public institution that was founded in 1848. The university sits on 936 acres along the southern shore of Lake Mendota in the city of Madison.  It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. UW-Madison includes four National Historic Landmarks, including the 1,200-acre Arboretum, located four miles south of the main campus. The main campus is adjacent to the busy city streets of downtown Madison, a community consistently ranked among the best places to live in the nation. Students can get involved in nearly 900 organizations on campus. Freshmen are not required to live on campus, but many choose to do so. Students can opt to live in one of several residential communities where they learn and live with other students and faculty.

Academics

UW-Madison is one of the 12 founding members of the Association of American Universities, a selective group of major research universities in North America. It is considered a “Public Ivy,” and is classified among R1 Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activities. Few institutions are more widely recognized as leaders in teaching, research, and public service. UW-Madison includes 13 schools and colleges and offers 9,000+ courses; 200+ undergraduate majors and certificates; 250+ master’s, doctoral, and professional programs; and 2,000+ faculty experts. The student-faculty ratio at UW-Madison is 18:1, and the school has 44% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Biology, Economics, and Information Science.

Special Highlights

Wisconsin Union. The Wisconsin Union, often referred to as “the heart and soul” of the University, serves as the living room of the UW-Madison campus and is based on the belief that the university experience should involve learning outside the classroom. Students, faculty, staff, and guests eat, meet, learn and relax in the two Union locations—Memorial Union on the shore of Lake Mendota, and Union South in the heart of campus near Camp Randall Stadium.

Space Science & Engineering Center. SSEC is an internationally known research and development center, one of the largest at the university. With a history of remote sensing innovation spanning more than 50 years, SSEC develops and utilizes space-, aircraft- and ground-based instrumentation to collect and analyze observations of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and other planetary atmospheres to improve our understanding of weather, climate, and atmospheric processes.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

UW-Madison’s main campus includes many buildings designed or supervised by architects J.T.W. Jennings and Arthur Peabody. The hub of campus life is the Memorial Union, which features a popular outdoor space overlooking the lake to the north, and has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful student centers on a university campus. The school’s legacy of public service was founded on the “Wisconsin Idea” that education should influence and improve people’s lives in our local community and throughout the world. Stroll down Madison’s vibrant State Street and experience the largest farmers’ market of its kind as you walk around Capitol Square. One unusual feature of the campus is the Babcock Hall dairy plant and store, a fully functional dairy well known for its ice cream.

Student Reviews…

“There are many great things about UW-Madison. There is always something to do on and off campus. The education and educators are top notch. Classes, although often large, are fair, yet challenging. The campus and facilities are well kept. Students and faculty here are welcoming.”