Last spring, UW-Madison awarded the largest number of degrees in the university’s history, the campus reported Wednesday.
The university awarded 13,733 degrees to 13,663 recipients. The total is 1,200 more degrees students earned the year prior.
After he graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Drew Wesson hopes to begin a career in strategic communication, a field with higher-than-average job growth and earnings.
The University of Wisconsin African Studies Program hosted a discussion Wednesday afternoon featuring UW Vice Provost and Dean of the International Division Frances Vavrus and other program directors. The discussion provided insights into the importance and future of international education amidst federal funding cuts.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is in the process of laying off 31 employees and leaving an additional 156 positions vacant. Schools and colleges have cut back on supplies, travel and other expenses. Some libraries plan to shorten hours. And some deans are relying on other funding sources to maintain services and staffing.
UW-Madison has shuttered the equity and well-being department in its human resources office, which worked to retain LGBTQ+ and employees of color.
The university established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being in spring 2021 to offer consultation and promote inclusive policies and environments, with a focus on support for traditionally marginalized communities.
The viability of the Universities of Wisconsin’s remaining branch campuses must be reviewed one by one, system President Jay Rothman said Wednesday, amid the ongoing closures of the two-year institutions.
The Universities of Wisconsin this fall saw record in-state freshman enrollment growth but reported 8% fewer international students on campus amid federal pressures, including visa crackdowns, according to data released Wednesday.
UW systemwide enrollment is 164,626 students this fall, a slight increase of 190 students, or 0.12%, from last fall. The modest increase is higher compared to student count projections reported last month. That report suggested a loss of nearly 100 students, 0.05% decrease, credited to plummeting international student enrollment.
Born in Wisconsin in the 1960s, I was always taught that Wisconsin valued progressive ideas, transparency in government and above all our excellent education system. These ideals made Wisconsin special.
So it was very saddening to see the recent closing of yet another two-year campus in the Universities of Wisconsin System: UW-Plattville Baraboo Sauk County.
Applications to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s law school skyrocketed this fall and surpassed a national surge.
Leaders at the law school had noticed signs that applications could be up. They monitored how many people registered for the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, among other indicators.
More than half of the Universities of Wisconsin’s two-year branch campuses in recent years have faced closures or significant structural changes to adapt to shrinking enrollment.
Since 2023, with the closure of UW-Platteville Richland, six branch campuses shuttered or plan to. One campus moved classes online and another is relocating instruction to a nearby technical college.
At 18 years old, Donovan Brendler found himself struggling to find his path in college and grappling with poor academic performance. Eight years later, in 2024, and with a greater sense of direction, he felt prepared to return to college.
That’s when Brendler learned about Badger Ready, a UW-Madison bridge program that provides a pathway to degree completion for adult students with academic barriers to traditional transfer admission. This discovery gave him a sense of empowerment and a renewed belief in his academic potential.
Foreign language departments at Wisconsin colleges and universities are facing an uncertain future after the Trump administration cut several funding sources the programs have relied on for more than 60 years. In March, the U.S. Department of Education dismantled its office of International and Foreign Language Education, which administered several major grant programs for language learning and international study.
The legislative package includes $40 million in new funding for advising and retention as well as a “tuition promise” scholarship program for low- and middle-income students attending other University of Wisconsin campuses aside from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison saw a sharp drop in the number of new students attending from overseas this fall, the decline coming after college officials voiced concerns about the impact of Trump administration policies on international enrollment.
Don’t cry over spilled milk.
A pair of University of Wisconsin-Platteville professors, disturbed by news stories of farmers dumping milk during the pandemic, chose instead to take action.
Democratic lawmakers are proposing a package of higher education bills to help address affordability for students by investing in a statewide tuition promise program and to support faculty and staff members by reversing Walker-era collective bargaining and tenure policies.
More than a quarter of Wisconsin’s high school students are earning college credits through dual enrollment programs during the school year.
Universities of Wisconsin faculty in high-demand fields of study could get salary bumps under a new policy that’s part of the recent state budget deal.
Last week, the UW Board of Regents approved a proposal detailing how the UW system will dole out $27 million annually for market pay adjustments to attract and keep faculty in growing fields, fulfilling a legislative reform set in the budget agreement. Of that, $2 million is earmarked for UW-Madison to use for faculty who work in “areas that advance diversity of thought and the foundation of free markets.”
Public college is less affordable in Wisconsin than in nearly every other state, according to a new analysis of 2022-23 school year data. The nonprofit National College Attainment Network, which advocates for college access, reports annually on each state’s “affordability gap” between the cost of college and what students and their families can pay.
State Democrats introduced legislation Thursday in an effort to ease the financial burden on Universities of Wisconsin students.
The “Higher Education Powers Wisconsin Package” includes a bill to extend Bucky’s Tuition Promise.
Under Bucky’s Tuition Promise, the program covers all tuition and fees for UW-Madison students from Wisconsin whose household income is less than $65,000 per year.
At a time of the year when colleges are usually teeming with autumn activity, the University of Wisconsin system’s former Waukesha campus stands silent, a closed venue still awaiting a plan for its future.
As previously envisioned, that future will likely involve some form of mixed-residential development on 71 of its 76 acres on the City of Waukesha’s north side. Now, nearly a year since the fate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus buildings was sealed, a clearer view of that future could emerge on Oct. 27, when the county may decide which developer will be the county’s partner in the effort.
‘Fill the Hill’ at UW-Madison kicked off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9. The event is the university’s largest fundraising day, allowing donors to gift money to student groups for 24 hours.
To celebrate the event, a flock of flamingo rubber duckies will be dumped into the fountain at Library Mall at 9 a.m. on Friday Oct. 10. Participants can rescue them with a net and keep the ones they catch.
Two University of Wisconsin–Madison professors have been named MacArthur Fellows, receiving one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.
Angel Adames Corraliza studies tropical weather patterns, focusing on atmospheric physics and climate model simulations. He says his research helps improve understanding of the planet and can ultimately save lives.
Sébastien Philippe, the second recipient, studies the harms and risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons. Using archival research, data modeling and his experience as a nuclear safety engineer, he examines the damage caused by nuclear testing. His work has influenced policy and improved compensation for people exposed to nuclear radiation.
Thousands of pink plastic flamingos will once again cover Bascom Hill as the University of Wisconsin–Madison celebrates its 13th annual Fill the Hill fundraiser.
The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association hosts the event each fall as part of the University’s day-of-giving campaign. Each donation of $5 or more adds another flamingo to the growing flock on the hill.
wo more MacArthur fellows were added Wednesday to UW-Madison’s growing list of faculty who have received the prestigious award.
Since 1985, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has granted eight UW-Madison professors the fellowship, which often is referred to as a “genius award.”
Two UW-Madison professors have been named MacArthur Foundation fellows, called “genius awards,” for their work in studying weather patterns in the tropics and investigating the effects of nuclear weapons.
UW-Madison professors Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, who is an atmospheric scientist, and Sébastien Philippe, a nuclear security specialist, were selected Wednesday for the prestigious fellowships. Fellows receive $800,000 paid out over five years for any use.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named atmospheric scientist Ángel Adames Corraliza, 37, and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, 38, as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the national award is given annually to a small group of people across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate meeting Monday centered on two hot-button issues on campus: a proposal for a new college of computing and data sciences and systemwide reforms on the university’s general education requirements, including rumored threats to the ethnic studies requirement.
Some University of Wisconsin-Madison research will be affected due to the federal government shutdown, according to a message from both the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration and of Research.
UW-Madison ranked sixth nationally for research expenditure in 2024 and is at risk for delayed research project funding after the shutdown.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said the university’s ethnic studies requirement will remain in place Wednesday, as a plan to standardize required courses across the University of Wisconsin System left the requirement in ambiguity.
For Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the award is also a recognition of the talent and grit coming from Puerto Rico, where he is from, despite the hardships his community has endured. His research has uncovered many new findings about what drives weather patterns in the tropics, which may eventually help improve forecasting in those regions.
Adames said usually one of his classes would be ending right when the foundation would publish the new class of fellows, so he was planning to end the lecture early to come back to his office. He said he’s having trouble fathoming what it will be like.
“I am low-key expecting that a few people are just going to show up in my office, like right at 11:02 a.m. or something like that,” he said.
Since the fellowship launched in 1981, fellows have included writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers and entrepreneurs. While no institutional affiliation is required, the award went to the following 2025 fellows with ties to a college or university:
The Universities of Wisconsin released its new proposed core general education requirements to comply with Wisconsin Act 15 — and some students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are concerned about the future of the school’s undergraduate ethnic studies requirement as the plan stands.
While the proposed caps might not immediately affect most colleges, some of the “elite” private colleges and large state schools would be impacted. Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Southern California, along with the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, all surpass the proposed limit. The high concentration of international students at these institutions is more related to brand recognition and recruitment efforts than to student success. Families should keep this in mind.
Morgridge Hall, the new home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS) programs, which may soon separate from Letters & Sciences, is officially open for business.
After a two-and-a-half-year construction project which cost $260 million, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and a host of other speakers cut the ribbon on Morgridge Hall Friday, ushering in a “new AI revolution” that will sweep the campus.
“I am not going to be that professor who posts on social media and is promptly pilloried for expressing an opinion.
“Like many academics these days, I have been wanting to weigh in on recent crises and tragedies that are at the top of the news cycle. But such a course hardly seems wise.”
Written by Russ Castronovo, a professor of English and the director of the Center for the Humanities at UW-Madison.
Where someone lives can shape their health, just as much as the care they receive. That’s why Dr. Amy Kind of her team at UW-Madison have developed the Area Deprivation Index (ADI).
The tool maps health disparities using the impacts of income, housing, education and employment on health.
The Department of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Wellbeing (EIEW) within UW-Madison’s Office of Human Resources (OHR) has ceased operations, a UW spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
UW-Madison has shuttered the equity and well-being department in its human resources office, which worked to retain LGBTQ+ and employees of color.
The university established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being in spring 2021 to offer consultation and promote inclusive policies and environments, with a focus on support for traditionally marginalized communities.
Overall enrollment held steady. The number of graduate and international students declined, as anticipated. And the University of Wisconsin-Madison welcomed roughly 1,000 of the state’s top students through a new program this fall.
Those were among the key takeaways after Wisconsin’s flagship university released its latest enrollment numbers, based on a student census conducted on the 10th day of classes.
Bringing a new power station online means Wisconsin would need more nuclear engineers to design and operate the plant.
Department Chair Paul Wilson and Assistant Professor Ben Lindley believe there is a ready pipeline of qualified workers in the state to keep up with that added demand. UW-Madison “pumps out” nuclear engineers, but Wisconsin has only one nuclear plant located in Two Rivers, Lindley said. This leaves some graduates to look for employment in other states.
“A lot of them want to stay in the state, and so having more job opportunities would certainly help,” Lindley said.
Written by Anthony Hernandez, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a research award from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation for his study on leadership in higher education.
Universities of Wisconsin proposal to redesign general education curriculum would eliminate requirements that students take an ethnic or cultural studies class.
UW system administrators are trying to standardize general education requirements to comply with reforms approved during the biennial budget negotiations aimed at making it easier for students to transfer credits between the 13 universities.
City and UW-Madison officials want to make it easier for low-income students to find cheaper housing options.
Under a city zoning change enacted in 2024, downtown developers may exceed maximum story limits as long as they stay under the maximum height permitted under city ordinances and state law. In exchange, developers building student housing are expected to commit a negotiated amount of affordable beds for low-income applicants.
Manly’s list attracted wide notice, and a bit of controversy. But like Embree’s, it was a one-off. A few public institutions made Manly’s top 10—UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin—but the Ivy League and private schools that topped the list remained clubby domains that catered to their traditional clientele by selecting for intangible qualities, such as “character,” over academic excellence.
The planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has educated hundreds of thousands of visitors about deep space and the night sky for close to 60 years.
That run is ending in December when the projection room will host its final program.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for the 2026 academic year went live Wednesday as scheduled, despite the government shutdown.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman is urging high school students and their families to fill out FAFSA paperwork if students plan to attend one of the state’s 13 public schools or other private colleges.
Barret Elward is an engineer at UW-Madison, and co-president of United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) Local 223, the union that represents faculty and staff at UW-Madison.
Elward and his team study fusion energy. Their work is mainly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is directly affected by the government shutdown.
“We’ve already been operating under don’t buy the expensive things, or be really cautious about your expenses,” Elward said.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison placed in the top 40 institutions nationwide for undergraduate education for the fourth year in a row, according to recent rankings by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison international student enrollment fell to its lowest point in at least a decade, reflecting a national trend caused by shifting visa policies in the United States.
More than 67,000 students applied to UW-Madison this admission cycle, making it the most competitive applicant pool the university has ever seen. But the number of enrolled international students dropped by 30%, reaching its lowest point since at least 2013.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin highlighted the arrival of a record 8,500 freshman, even as she warned of looming challenges tied to federal and state funding and free speech scrutiny in a student media roundtable Tuesday.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, much of the university’s research will continue for the time being, even projects that receive federal funding. But international students and staff may be affected as agencies that oversee passports and visas operate with reduced staffs. Similarly, small business loans and federal research grants will be paused or delayed during a shutdown.
Students applying to the University of Wisconsin-Madison will soon need to complete a second, longer financial aid application if they want a share of the millions of dollars in financial aid the university gives out each year.
Starting this fall, UW-Madison will require applicants to fill out the CSS Profile, an online application used by around 270 colleges, universities and scholarship programs to award institutional aid, separate from a different form used to apply for federal financial aid. Students can start working on their CSS Profile Oct. 1.
UW officials say a government shutdown could affect research operations on campus, depending on the length of the shutdown and the guidance provided by federal agencies.
American universities are facing new questions about their purpose. How are they adjusting to address those questions and what will tomorrow’s university look like? For this final broadcast of University of the Air, we’ll look into the future with Johannes Britz, Senior Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs of the Universities of Wisconsin.
International freshman enrollment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has dropped to its lowest level in at least a decade, according to recently released admissions data for the fall semester.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater announced Thursday that it has partnered with Wisconsin technical colleges to deliver a pathway for health professionals looking to transition into careers in healthcare management.
This move comes as part of a continued effort to fill vital workforce needs in the region. UW-Whitewater’s Bachelor of Science in Health and Leadership Studies launched in Fall 2025, and is designed for students with Associate of Science degrees working in allied health professions. This includes dental hygiene, cardiovascular technology and physical therapy.
All core general education courses, or gen-eds, may soon be transferable between the 13 Universities of Wisconsin.
The proposed UW Board of Regents policy is now being shared for comment at the universities. The gen-ed credits, which are classes students must take for graduation outside their majors and minors, would range from 30 to 36 credit hours in 10 to 12 courses in six curricular categories at all the UWs, according to a statement.
Fewer graduate and international students are attending UW-Madison this fall, according to data the university released Thursday — a glimpse into how the deep cuts to federal research and visa crackdowns over the last year are rippling through the university.
The data show a 7% decline in total international student enrollment this fall, a decrease of 490 students, and 9% fewer new graduate and professional students.
UW-Madison was at a “critical juncture,” former Chancellor Donna Shalala told the group, amid budget constraints, critiques of higher education and a host of other issues.
“I look around, and I see a faculty and staff here that is too often trying to do 80 hours of work in a 40-hour week, too often fatigued, too often unheralded for their accomplishments, too often fearful of the future, and cynical about getting the resources they need to do their jobs,” said former Chancellor Donna Shalala.
