UW-Madison is organized into 20 schools which enrolled 29,153 undergraduate, 8,710 graduate, and 2,570 professional students and granted 6,040 bachelor's and 3,328 graduate and professional degrees in 2008. The university employs 2,054 faculty members. Its comprehensive academic program offers 135 undergraduate majors, along with 151 master's degree programs and 107 doctoral programs.
The UW is categorized as an RU/VH Research University (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In 2007, it had research expenditures of $913 million, making it the third largest in science and engineering and the largest in non-science expenditures in the nation. Wisconsin is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.
The Wisconsin Badgers compete in 25 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA's Division I Big Ten Conference and have won 27 national championships.
History
In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been recognized as one of America’s great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW–Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities. Many of its programs are hailed as world leaders in instruction, research and public service.
The university traces its roots to a clause in the Wisconsin Constitution, which decreed that the state should have a prominent public university. In 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the university, and its first class, with 17 students, met in a Madison school building on February 5, 1849.
From those humble beginnings, the university has grown into a large, diverse community, with about 40,000 students enrolled each year. These students represent every state in the nation, as well as countries from around the globe, making for a truly international population.
UW–Madison is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Wisconsin System, a statewide network of 13 comprehensive universities, 13 freshman-sophomore transfer colleges and an extension service. One of two doctorate-granting universities in the system, UW–Madison’s specific mission is to provide “a learning environment in which faculty, staff and students can discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help insure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all.”
The university achieves these ends through innovative programs of research, teaching and public service. Throughout its history, UW–Madison has sought to bring the power of learning into the daily lives of its students through innovations such as residential learning communities and service-learning opportunities. Students also participate freely in research, which has led to life-improving inventions ranging from more fuel-efficient engines to cutting-edge genetic therapies.
Students, faculty and staff are motivated by a tradition known as the “Wisconsin Idea,” first started by UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904, when he declared that he would “never be content until the beneficent influence of the university [is] available to every home in the state.” The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships among university faculty and students, and the state’s industries and government.
Campus
Located in Madison, about a mile from the state capitol, the university is situated partially on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The main campus comprises 933 acres (3.77 km²) of land, while the entire campus, including research stations located throughout the state, is over 10,600 acres (42.9 km²) in area. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, a demonstration area for native ecosystems, is located on the west side of Madison. The 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.
Research
UW-Madison was a founding member of the Association of American Universities. In 2007–2008, the school allocated $832 million towards research on campus, placing it second in the country in generating research funding, behind Johns Hopkins University. Collectively, its research programs were also sixth in the number of patents issued in 2005.
Overall, the University maintains almost 100 research centers and programs, ranging from agriculture to arts, from education to engineering. It has been considered a major academic center for embryonic stem cell research ever since UW-Madison professor James Thomson became the first scientist to isolate human embryonic stem cells. This has brought significant attention and respect for the University's research programs from around the world. The University continues to be a leader in stem cell research, helped in part by the funding of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and promotion of WiCell.
Its center for research on internal combustion engines, called the Engine Research Center, has a five-year collaboration agreement with General Motors. It has also been the recipient of multi-million dollar funding from the federal government.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of thirty sea grant colleges in the United States. These colleges are involved in scientific research, education, training, and extension projects geared toward the conservation and practical use of U.S. coasts, the Great Lakes and other marine areas.
In January 2008, the US Department of Agriculture cited the University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Animal Resource Center for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including not using painkillers in animals undergoing painful procedures, improper monitoring of animals, and not reporting medical problems to staff veterinarians.
Library
Wisconsin had the 10th largest research library collection in North America in 2005–06, according to the Association of Research Libraries. Memorial Library, along with more than 40 other professional and special-purpose libraries, serve the campus. As of July 2008, the campus library collections included more than 7.3 million volumes representing human inquiry through all of history. In addition, the collections comprised more than 55,000 serial titles, 6.2 million microfilm items, and over 7 million items in other formats, such as government documents, maps, musical scores, and audiovisual materials. Over 1 million volumes are circulated to library users every year. Memorial Library serves as the principal research facility on campus for the humanities and social sciences. It houses the largest single library collection in the state of Wisconsin—-more than 3.5 million volumes. This library also houses an extensive periodical collection, a large selection of domestic and foreign newspapers, Special Collections, the University Archives, the Mills Music Library, a letterpress printing museum, and the UW Digital Collections Center.
Reputation
The UW was ranked 17th among world universities and 15th among universities in the Americas in Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities, which assesses academic and research performance. In the G-factor International University Ranking of 2006, which is a re-analysis of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University data, the UW-Madison was listed 13th. The Times Higher Education Supplement placed it 55th worldwide, based primarily on surveys administered to students, faculty, and recruiters. Additionally, the professional ranking of world universities from École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, based in part on the number of senior managerial positions occupied by alumni, placed UW-Madison 35th internationally. In the Webometrics ranking, which is based on a combined indicator that takes into account both the volume of the Web contents and the visibility and impact of web publications, UW-Madison ranked 7th worldwide.
UW-Madison was ranked 11th among national universities (with three institutions tied) by the Center for Measuring University Performance in its 2007 report, with rankings based on objective statistics on research, faculty awards, student qualifications, and university assets. Of 38 programs at the UW-Madison that were included in the National Research Council's 1995 study, 16 ranked in the top 10 nationally. In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that 57 disciplines at the UW-Madison were in the top 10 in the U.S. in scholarly productivity. The UW placed 18th among national universities in Washington Monthly's 2007 rankings, which consider community service and social mobility, as well as research productivity. In 2009, UW-Madison was ranked 6th in Internet Media Buzz by the Global Language Monitor.
Madison's undergraduate program was ranked 35th among national universities by U.S.News & World Report for 2009. The same magazine ranked UW's graduate School of Business 29th, and its undergraduate business program 13th. Twelve CEOs of S&P 500 companies hold degrees from the University of Wisconsin, putting it in a tie with Harvard and Princeton for first place.
USNWR ranked UW's School of Law 36th, while Vault listed it as one of its Top 25 Law Schools for 2008. Other graduate schools ranked by USNWR include the School of Medicine and Public Health, which was 27th in research and 13th in primary care, the College of Engineering 15th, the School of Education 12th, and the La Follette School of Public Affairs 14th.
Madison has been labeled one of the "Public Ivies," a publicly-funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League. In the Gourman Report on undergraduate programs, the University of Wisconsin-Madison was ranked the third-best public university, after the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan. Additionally, it was ranked the seventh-best university in the United States for overall strength of the undergraduate programs
Schools and Colleges
Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of
Business, Wisconsin School of
Continuing Studies, Division of
Education, School of
Engineering, College of
Environmental Studies, Gaylord Nelson Institute for
Graduate School
Human Ecology, School of
International Studies, Division of
Journalism and Mass Communication, School of
Law School
Letters and Science, College of
Library and Information Studies, School of
Medicine and Public Health, School of
Music, School of
Nursing, School of
Pharmacy, School of
Public Affairs, Robert M. La Follette School of
Social Work, School of
Veterinary Medicine, School of
University of Winsconsin Madison ranked 55th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking
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