University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, WI · Public · 36,902 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$70 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$4,200
$30,000 – $48,000	$4,101
$48,000 – $75,000	$8,134
$75,000 – $110,000	$17,763
Over $110,000	$27,292
All incomes (average)	$17,354

Sticker tuition and fees: $11,603 in-state, $42,103 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use University of Wisconsin-Madison's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$14,520
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,520
Books and supplies	$1,800
Other expenses, on campus	$3,238
Other expenses, off campus	$3,238

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (8,605 of them) in 2022–23; 60% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	49%	$11,350
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	17%	$5,295
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	32%	$12,811
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	24%	$5,182

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1427
Median ACT: 29
Students with Pell grants: 16%
Graduation rate (6yr): 90%
Freshman retention: 96%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $73,792
Median debt at graduation: $20,484
International undergrads: 3,904 (10.6%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $70
Students per faculty member: 18 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 86%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 670–740
SAT Math: 710–780
ACT composite: 29–33

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 63,505
Admitted: 27,529
Enrolled: 7,964

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business16%

Social Sciences9%

Biology & Life Sciences8%

Computer Science7%

Engineering7%

Communications & Media6%

Health & Nursing6%

Psychology3%

Education3%

Visual & Performing Arts3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (78)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Computer and Information Sciences, General	875	$86,643	$119,655national $92,374	$15,000
Economics	590	$58,619	$85,366national $82,686	$18,250
Finance and Financial Management Services	580	$71,913	$107,207national $83,343	$17,750
Psychology, General	548	$38,833	$58,901national $50,706	$19,000
Data Science	408	$87,360	—	$18,686
Biology, General	393	$41,194	$69,005national $57,214	$17,097
Political Science and Government	336	$45,981	$66,148national $63,293	$15,000
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	273	$58,551	$82,081national $75,399	$14,567
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	272	$39,505	$58,824national $62,451	$20,500
Mechanical Engineering	254	$79,801	$95,114national $92,135	$18,000
Communication and Media Studies	252	$46,117	$61,270national $56,359	$18,125
Marketing	243	$67,255	$96,148national $69,303	$15,750
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	217	$38,494	$74,963national $54,562	$17,800
Business Administration, Management and Operations	214	$69,386	$100,005national $68,257	$17,510
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	208	$44,425	$72,988national $65,466	$20,740
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	206	$81,305	$85,579national $88,910	$19,500
Mathematics	198	$64,314	$101,438national $69,562	$15,000
Journalism	190	$52,252	$75,967national $56,278	$18,351
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	174	$45,219	$52,631national $55,012	$17,653
Real Estate	173	$75,375	$120,483national $84,821	$15,000
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	148	$42,901	$59,044national $48,568	$20,250
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	147	$39,594	$58,565national $55,000	$16,899
Non-Professional Legal Studies	137	$42,529	$70,123national $61,959	$17,499
History	131	$42,880	$58,343national $50,680	$17,437
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	123	$48,054	$49,640national $47,382	$12,010
Accounting and Related Services	123	$69,389	$101,390national $76,194	$19,500
Chemical Engineering	120	$88,450	$101,676national $98,158	$19,500
Insurance	116	$80,508	$105,992national $88,472	$15,000
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	115	$79,909	$99,762national $93,451	$21,500
Sustainability Studies	110	—	—national $57,887	$19,000
Computer Engineering	107	$90,524	$120,068national $109,015	$15,000
Industrial Engineering	105	$83,954	$110,711national $98,442	$19,750
Genetics	105	$43,621	$68,402national $66,076	$19,070
International/Globalization Studies	105	$45,018	$63,452national $59,972	$14,750
Sociology	105	$39,823	$58,007national $52,657	$18,750
English Language and Literature, General	100	$37,625	$53,197national $48,590	$16,700
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	97	$85,353	$95,059national $100,647	$20,500
Civil Engineering	89	$71,989	$87,691national $86,517	$18,500
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	88	$40,370	$49,602national $48,842	$14,990
Fine and Studio Arts	79	$38,177	$48,684national $41,367	$16,750
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	79	$30,951	$61,737national $58,928	$18,423
Statistics	75	$66,485	$99,210national $92,425	$17,165
Chemistry	71	$51,795	$64,734national $65,120	$21,000
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	61	$84,089	$106,521national $86,176	$15,949
Agricultural Public Services	60	$46,367	$71,726national $54,152	$14,186
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	59	$47,629	$68,397national $62,582	$20,500
Nutrition Sciences	57	$44,129	$59,329national $60,053	$20,500
Philosophy	57	$41,092	$61,186national $54,455	$19,500
Social Work	57	$42,052	$54,375national $51,790	$13,500
Management Information Systems and Services	57	$87,860	—national $83,290	$14,000
Geography and Cartography	55	$45,760	$59,424national $57,853	$18,125
Zoology/Animal Biology	50	$33,404	$50,080national $44,055	$20,500
Physics	49	$53,377	$77,380national $76,786	$20,375
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	47	$40,847	$48,934national $51,710	$19,500
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education	47	$41,922	—national $60,360	—
International Business	45	$72,575	$106,783national $73,201	$16,724
Engineering Mechanics	41	$76,121	$92,276national $93,437	$25,498
Materials Engineering	40	$77,204	$91,265national $91,449	$27,000
Animal Sciences	38	$41,283	$57,605national $49,634	$18,869
Agricultural Business and Management	36	$56,426	$81,655national $66,647	—
Astronomy and Astrophysics	33	$42,730	—national $68,333	$19,882
Agricultural Engineering	31	$71,101	$78,368national $84,624	$14,885
Anthropology	31	$35,729	$54,773national $46,676	$21,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	31	$41,683	$63,061national $55,792	$19,500
Special Education and Teaching	29	$49,692	$50,302national $50,499	$15,654
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	29	$47,360	$48,435national $51,389	$18,500
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management	28	$34,869	$45,212national $45,338	$13,500
Design and Applied Arts	28	$53,850	$65,874national $51,490	—
Area Studies	25	$39,304	$55,733national $56,625	$17,200
Music	25	$26,871	—national $42,892	—
Landscape Architecture	21	—	$63,759national $66,387	$20,501
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	21	—	$58,771national $60,190	—
Botany/Plant Biology	20	—	$50,963national $49,245	—
Food Science and Technology	16	$57,824	$85,445national $70,873	—
Plant Sciences	15	$34,612	—national $56,567	—
Nuclear Engineering	10	—	$102,449national $99,297	—
Geological/Geophysical Engineering	9	—	$73,337national $77,880	—
Education, Other	—	$52,647	—national $49,113	—

Master's degrees (34)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	179	$91,223	$156,689national $124,807	$28,766
Computer and Information Sciences, General	142	$124,044	$196,985national $124,201	—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	117	$118,900	$129,743national $133,654	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	105	$62,983	$71,120national $65,184	$34,900
Library Science and Administration	97	$47,650	$54,976national $56,301	$37,310
Social Work	91	$57,680	$62,101national $65,123	$32,788
Public Health	84	$71,592	$92,640national $82,751	$52,920
Accounting and Related Services	80	$76,151	$107,090national $95,833	$20,500
Curriculum and Instruction	79	$53,311	$55,104national $63,399	$23,528
Real Estate	74	$97,995	—national $135,104	$31,000
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	69	$112,967	$125,492national $127,347	$70,479
Mechanical Engineering	64	$92,920	$113,710national $115,974	—
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	64	—	—national $129,214	$41,000
Industrial Engineering	59	$85,237	—national $119,184	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	53	$59,773	$69,767national $71,685	$26,000
Engineering, General	53	$123,302	$147,101national $120,215	$33,765
Business/Commerce, General	53	$141,050	$160,097national $125,988	$49,625
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	50	$90,377	$109,392national $106,375	$20,500
Biotechnology	47	$82,149	$83,354national $107,682	$41,000
Civil Engineering	35	$78,481	$91,867national $98,323	—
Geography and Cartography	34	$77,559	$111,616national $79,784	$30,375
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	34	$60,397	$64,515national $67,030	$41,000
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	33	$52,667	$67,161national $74,607	$20,500
Public Policy Analysis	32	$66,113	$78,939national $93,020	—
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	32	$64,465	$67,173national $62,269	$28,115
Special Education and Teaching	24	$57,193	—national $64,397	$18,766
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	23	$67,447	$63,546national $71,416	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	20	$132,662	$164,371national $110,694	—
Fine and Studio Arts	18	$33,984	$43,436national $49,079	—
Marketing	17	$126,487	$166,668national $79,106	—
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management	15	$48,537	—national $59,685	—
Nuclear Engineering	12	—	$118,214national $117,400	—
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	9	—	$71,621national $72,563	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	9	—	$77,299national $79,665	—

First professional degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	265	$75,958	$100,715national $107,773	$61,500
Medicine	173	$66,453	$127,913national $112,460	$185,334
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	94	$85,857	$139,210national $138,348	$129,000
Veterinary Medicine	88	$103,052	$122,648national $131,316	$159,513
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	68	$79,095	$78,614national $81,641	$61,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	36	$105,349	$122,428national $133,099	$55,118
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	11	$81,654	$96,720national $85,242	—

Doctoral degrees (12)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Chemistry	70	$86,665	$105,406national $115,386	—
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	46	$84,941	$126,758national $112,683	—
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	31	—	$107,552national $93,640	—
Communication and Media Studies	25	—	$69,654national $77,931	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	23	$80,909	$104,681national $99,878	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	22	$110,532	—national $100,573	$46,927
Curriculum and Instruction	21	$67,674	$70,523national $83,031	—
Public Health	21	—	$169,322national $108,962	—
Sociology	16	$78,722	—national $88,618	—
English Language and Literature, General	11	$63,598	—national $65,831	—
Music	10	$42,085	$65,495national $59,592	—
History	10	—	$73,942national $70,550	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 252 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 500 Lincoln Dr, Madison, WI 53706-1380
Phone: (608) 263-2400
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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