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 2017 Average Undergraduate Class Size: 31
2017-18 Annual Student Credit Hours: 1,102,805
Fall 2018 Headcount Enrollment
Undergraduate 30,360
Wisconsin Resident 17,617
Minnesota Reciprocity 2,749
Other Non-Resident 9,994
Graduate 9,226
Special 2,288
Professional 2,537
Total 44,411
New Freshmen (Fall 2018)
Applicants 42,741
Admits 22,099
Enrolled Students 6,862
Admit Rate 51.7%
Yield Rate 31.1%
Average ACT Score 29.4
2016-17 International Study Abroad Participants 2,276
2017-18 Degrees Awarded
Bachelor’s 7,078
Master’s 2,213
Research Doctorate 802
Professional/Clinical Doctorate 653
Average Undergraduate Time to Degree
Elapsed Calendar Years 4.01
Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates
1st-Year Retention Rate 95.4%
4-Year Graduation Rate 66.1%
6-Year Graduation Rate 87.3%
Academic Year 2018-19 Tuition & Fees
Undergraduate Resident $10,556
Ranks 10th among Big Ten publics
Undergraduate Non-Resident $36,805
Ranks 3rd among Big Ten publics
Expected Total Cost of Attendance for Undergraduates in 2018-19
Residents $25,294
Non-Residents $52,887
Fall 2018 Faculty and Staff Head Count
Faculty 2,140
Limited Staff 603
Instructional Academic Staff 2,609
Other Academic Staff 6,613
University Staff 4,522
Post-Degree Training Staff 946
Graduate Assistants 4,932
Total 22,365
NSF Research Expenditures (FY 2017)
Total Research Expenditures $1,193.4M
Federally Funded Expenditures $570.8M
Non-Federal Expenditures $622.6M
National Research Expenditure Rank 6th
Big Ten Research Expenditure Rank 2nd
Technology Transfer (Number in FY 2017)
U.S. Patents Issued 192
Licenses and Options Yielding Income 629
Licensing Income $20.0M
UW Foundation (FY 2017)
Total Endowment $2,746.5M
Payments to/for UW-Madison $253.2M
Wisconsin Alumni Association
Total Living Alumni 446,810
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Total Endowment (FY 2018) $2.7B
Expenditures (FY 2017) $60.2M
2018-19 Budget
State Appropriations $456.9M (14%)
Student Tuition Revenue $642.1M (20%)
Federal Programs $906.3M (28%)
Gifts, Grants, & Seg. Fees $581.8M (18%)
State Laboratory Fees $26.9M (1%)
Auxiliary Enterprises $411.9M (13%)
Operations Receipts $159.4M (5%)
Total $3,185.3M (100%)
Inventory of Land Acres
Main Campus 938
Arboretum 1,262
Experimental farms and stations 5,924
Off-campus properties 1,646
Total 9,769