• Year Established: 1848
• Location: Madison, Wisconsin
• Number of Campuses: One 933-acre urban main campus
• Classification: Public state university/Land-grant, sea-grant
• Total Number of Enrollees: 40,793*

*Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2005 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System IPEDS, Spring 2006

A Brief Look into the History and Stats of The University of Wisconsin-Madison

It was on July of 1848 that Wisconsin's first governor Nelson Dewey signed the act which formally set-forth the establishment of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This facility is the flagship institution in the Wisconsin university system.

This educational institution has become a premiere public research university and categorized as having “very high research activity". In 2007, it had research expenditures of $913 million, and proudly hails as having the largest non-science expenditures in the nation and the third highest in science and engineering. The focus of the research is to improve the quality of life, health, environment and agriculture of the Wisconsin residents and the rest of the nation.

The 933-acre main campus actually has four National Historic Landmarks on its property. Madison is sectionalized into 20 schools and in 2007, enrolled almost 29,000 undergraduate, 8,860 graduate, and 2,563 professional students. This university is responsible for successfully releasing 6,265 bachelor's and 3,144 graduate and professional degreed-students to the job market in 2007. The university employs over 2,000 faculty members. The academic programs offered are many and varied with 134 undergraduate majors, 153 master degree programs and 114 doctoral programs.

How the Educational System Works

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is part of the University of Wisconsin's system of public university that are compromised of two doctoral research universities, statewide extension programs, sophomore colleges and comprehensive universities.

This university is sub-divided into the following colleges:

1. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
2. College of Letters and Science
3. College of Engineering
4. Division of Continuing Studies
5. Division of International Studies
6. Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
7. Graduate School
8. Law School
9. Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
10. School of Human Ecology
11. School of Journalism and Mass Communication
12. School of Library and Information Studies
13. School of Medicine and Public Health
14. School of Music
15. School of Nursing
16. School of Pharmacy
17. School of Education
18. School of Social Work
19. School of Veterinary Medicine
20. Wisconsin School of Business

Program Listings

University of Wisconsin-Madison is classified as a four-year research university offering undergraduate majors and programs, which include the following:

• College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
  - Agricultural and Applied Economics
  - Biological Systems Engineering
  - Dairy Sciences
  - Entomology
  - Forest Science
  - Genetics
  - Horticulture
  - Individual Major
  - Landscape Architecture
  - Microbiology
  - Nutritional Science
  - Plant Pathology
  - Rural Sociology
  - Wildlife Ecology
• College of Letters and Science
• College of Engineering
  - Biomedical Engineering
  - Chemical and Biological Engineering
  - Civil Engineering
  - Computer Engineering
  - Electrical Engineering
  - Engineering Mechanics
  - Engineering Physics
  - Geological Engineering
  - Industrial and Systems Engineering
  - Materials Science and Engineering
  - Mechanical Engineering
  - Naval Science
  - Nuclear Engineering
• Division of Continuing Studies
• Division of International Studies
• Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
• Graduate School
• Law School
• Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
• School of Human Ecology
  - Consumer Science
  - Family and Consumer Journalism
  - Family, Consumer and Community Education
  - Human Development and Family Studies
  - Individual Major
  - Interior Design
  - Retailing
  - Textile and Apparel Design
• School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• School of Library and Information Studies
• School of Medicine and Public Health
• School of Music
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
  - Pharmacology and Toxicology
• School of Education
• School of Social Work
• School of Veterinary Medicine
• Wisconsin School of Business
  - Accounting
  - Actuarial Science
  - Finance, Investment and Banking
  - Information Systems
  - International Business
  - Management and Human Resources
  - Marketing
  - Operations and Technology Management
  - Real Estate and Urban Land Economics
  - Risk Management and Insurance

Visit the official site of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus for the complete listing of the graduate, undergraduate, joint degree, pre-professional and professional degrees that they offer.

Advantages of Enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Make no mistake about it; the University of Wisconsin-Madison is as good a university as you can find. When it comes to the rankings, the educational institution has a tremendous share of high ratings of other comparably-respected institutions.

For example, based on the US News & World Report, University of Wisconsin-Madison is the number 35 best college in the nation. For more specific courses or study: General Education – 12; Business – 29; Engineering – 15; Medical Research – 27; Medical Primary Care – 13; Law – 36.

Additionally, when you look at Student's Review, the overall grade of University of University of Wisconsin-Madison is a B+, with 69% of the student respondents saying that they would choose to return here.

A Glimpse at the Weather when Studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

If you're from out of state in the southern climates then the cold winters of the northern Midwest states up and along the Great Lakes may be tough on you. Expect January as the coldest month with average temperatures of 9 degrees. However, in July – which is the warmest month of the year – expect the temperature to heat up to about 82 degrees.

Is There Any Downside to Enrolling?

Go online and you will hardly find any negative reviews about the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This is hardly surprising, because it continues to be a high-ranking university in almost all of the surveys! Of course it would be more advantageous to be seasoned to the extremely cold northern climates. At least the hot chocolate and coffee will be much more rewarding and special on those cold winter days snuggled up with your books.

A Final Word about the Quality of Education Offered by University of Wisconsin-Madison

Basically, the best thing about studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is you get to reside in the 53rd best quality of life places to live as found in a CNN/Money survey. From the quality of education, the extracurricular activities to the academic resources and quality of life index of the area, the University of Wisconsin-Madison quite aptly deserves its student review rating of B+.