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 or you can view the one-page PDF here. 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 2021 Average Undergraduate Class Size: 32
2020-21 Annual Student Credit Hours: 1,168,248
Fall 2021 Headcount Enrollment
Undergraduate 33,506
Wisconsin Resident 17,719
Minnesota Reciprocity 3,014
Other Non-Resident 12,773
Graduate 9,772
Special 1,968
Professional 2,686
Total 47,932
New Freshmen (Fall 2021)
Applicants 53,829
Admits 32,466
Enrolled Students 8,465
Admit Rate 60.3%
Yield Rate 26.1%
2019-20 International Study Abroad Participants 1,602
2020-21 Degrees Awarded
Bachelor’s 7,671
Master’s 2,537
Research Doctorate 695
Professional/Clinical Doctorate 760
Average Undergraduate Time to Degree
Elapsed Calendar Years 3.89
Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates
1st-Year Retention Rate 95.2%
4-Year Graduation Rate 72.8%
6-Year Graduation Rate 89.2%
Academic Year 2020-21 Tuition & Fees
Undergraduate Resident $10,720
Ranks 10th among Big Ten publics
Undergraduate Non-Resident $38,608
Ranks 4th among Big Ten publics
Expected Total Cost of Attendance for Undergraduates in 2020-21
Residents $27,418
Non-Residents $55,822
Fall 2021 Faculty and Staff Head Count
Faculty 2,294
Limited Staff 666
Instructional Academic Staff 2,644
Other Academic Staff 8,260
University Staff 4,072
Post-Degree Training Staff 909
Graduate Assistants 5,387
Total 24,232
NSF Research Expenditures (FY 2020)
Total Research Expenditures $1,363.9M
Federally Funded Expenditures $632.6M
Non-Federal Expenditures $731.3M
National Research Expenditure Rank 8th
Big Ten Research Expenditure Rank 2nd
Technology Transfer (Number in FY 2021)
U.S. Patents Issued 111
Licenses and Options 704
Licensing Income $18.8M
UW Foundation (FY 2021)
Total Endowment $3,178.6M
Payments to/for UW-Madison $243.9M
Wisconsin Alumni Association
Total Living Alumni 468,181
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Total Endowment (FY 2018) $2.8B
Expenditures (FY 2018) $78.5M
2020-21 Budget
State Appropriations $536.9M (15%)
Student Tuition Revenue $749.2M (20%)
Federal Programs $892.3M (25%)
Gifts, Grants, & Seg. Fees $676.1M (17%)
State Laboratory Fees $26.9M (1%)
Auxiliary Enterprises $468.8M (15%)
Operations Receipts $256.6M (6%)
Total $3,606.8M (100%)
Inventory of Land Acres
Main Campus 938
Arboretum 1,262
Experimental farms and stations 5,924
Off-campus properties 1,646
Total 9,770