Current Issues

In 2021-2022 freshman class at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is the largest in the institution’s history and includes the most Wisconsin residents of any freshman class in the last 20 years. Overall, 53,829 students applied to UW-Madison for fall 2021, with 60.3% of those applicants being admitted. That includes 3,859 Wisconsin residents. Learn more here.

For students who entered UW-Madison in fall 2015, the six-year graduation rate was 89.2%. Average time to degree, an important factor in the cost of an education and student debt, was 3.89 years. See pages 27-30 of the 2021-2022 Data Digest for more information.

In 2021-2022, out of UW-Madison’s 33,506 undergraduates, 17,179 students (53%) were Wisconsin residents. Another 3,014 students (9%) were from Minnesota as part of reciprocity. A total of 12,773 students were out of state, including international students. Check out more detailed facts on UW-Madison’s 2021-2022 enrollment on page 18 of the 2021-2022 Data Digest.

Tuition and fees are an important part of the overall cost of attending UW–Madison. Currently, 20% of the UW-Madison overall budget comes from student tuition and fees, second only to Federal funding as a source of university revenue. In 2019-2020 budget, tuition and fee revenue was $695 million. Learn more at Budget in Brief.

Compared with the university’s peers, UW-Madison’s in-state tuition is less than the average. UW–Madison’s total room and board fees, including meal plan, rank 10^th among the 13 schools that make up the Big Ten. UW-Madison’s 2021-2022 tuition was $10,720 for in-state students, $2,673 less expensive than the Big Ten average. Check out a detailed comparison.

Revenues from the state government totaled about 16% of UW’s overall budget in 2019-2020. Much of the funds from the UW’s other budget sources are earmarked for specific purposes, such as federal research grants or private donations for new facilities. State support and student tuition revenues primarily fund student services and faculty salaries not covered by research grants. Learn more about the UW’s changing budget landscape on page 4 of the Budget in Brief.

In total, 62% of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. Since 2018 Bucky's Tuition Promise guarantees four years of tuition and segregated fees for any incoming freshman who is a Wisconsin resident and whose family's annual household adjusted gross income is $60,000 or less. Learn more here about UW-Madison’s commitment to keeping a degree affordable.