The Fast Facts publication is a small, pocket-sized brochure providing an overview of facts about the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fast Facts is intended to be a companion of the annual Data Digest, and contains a selection of facts and statistics from the full digest. The content of the Fast Facts brochure is available below. If you are in need of pamphlets, please Contact Us for assistance.
University Chancellor: Rebecca Blank (www.chancellor.wisc.edu)
Number of Schools and Colleges: 13
Fall 2015 Average Undergraduate Class Size: 30
2015-16 Annual Student Credit Hours: 1,107,152
Fall 2016 Headcount Enrollment
Undergraduate 29,536
Wisconsin Resident 18,038
Minnesota Reciprocity 2,917
Other Non-Resident 8,581
Graduate 9,193
Special 2,174
Professional 2,433
Total 43,336
New Freshmen (Fall 2016)
Applicants 32,887
Admits 17,304
Enrolled Students 6,430
Admit Rate 52.6%
Yield Rate 37.2%
Average ACT Score 28.7
2014-15 International Study Abroad Participants 2,152
2015-16 Degrees Awarded
Bachelor’s 6,896
Master’s 2,170
Research Doctorate 850
Professional/Clinical Doctorate 620
Average Undergraduate Time to Degree
Elapsed Calendar Years 4.07
Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates
1st-Year Retention Rate 95.4%
4-Year Graduation Rate 60.7%
6-Year Graduation Rate 85.2%
Academic Year 2016-17 Tuition & Fees
Undergraduate Resident $10,488
Ranks 7th among Big Ten publics
Undergraduate Non-Resident $32,738
Ranks 4th among Big Ten publics
Expected Total Cost of Attendance for Undergraduates in 2016-17
Residents $25,294
Non-Residents $48,144
Fall 2016 Faculty and Staff Head Count
Faculty 2,154
Limited Staff 541
Instructional Academic Staff 2,439
Other Academic Staff 5,872
University Staff 4,794
Post-Degree Training Staff 960
Graduate Assistants 4,992
Total 21,752
NSF Research Expenditures (FY 2015)
Total Research Expenditures $1,069.1M
Federally Funded Expenditures $559.7M
Non-Federal Expenditures $509.4M
National Research Expenditure Rank 6th
Big Ten Research Expenditure Rank 2nd
Technology Transfer (Number in FY 2015)
U.S. Patents Issued 161
Licenses and Options Yielding Income 587
Licensing Income $40.0M
UW Foundation (FY 2015)
Total Endowment $2,357.1M
Payments to/for UW-Madison $220.6M
Wisconsin Alumni Association
Total Living Alumni 435,196
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Total Endowment (FY 2016) $2,670.3M
Expenditures (FY 2015) $55.9M
2016-17 Budget
State Appropriations $436.2M (15%)
Student Tuition Revenue $558.7M (19%)
Federal Programs $890.2M (30%)
Gifts, Grants, & Seg. Fees $511.7M (17%)
State Laboratory Fees $28.3M (1%)
Auxiliary Enterprises $394.5M (13%)
Operations Receipts $146.2M (5%)
Total $2,965.8M (100%)
Inventory of Land Acres
Main Campus 936
Arboretum 1,262
Experimental farms and stations 5,842
Off-campus properties 1,607
Total 9,647