2025 College Rankings

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has recently joined other universities in adopting institutional neutrality, a welcome change after decades in which administrators had weighed in on causes du jour. In this case, the catalyst was the widespread anti-Israel protests that erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. These events prompted the whole UW system to adopt institutional neutrality; they were also the impetus for a federal investigation into UW-Madison’s inability to protect Jewish students adequately before and during campus protests.

UW-Madison’s administrative support for free speech is decidedly mixed: the school has endorsed the Chicago Principles, designed to protect free speech on campus; but the school maintains a bias-response system, which does just the opposite. Some 34 percent of students tell the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) that it is “extremely” or “very” clear that the administration protects speech on campus. About the same portion, 36 percent, say that it is “extremely” or “very” likely that the administration would defend a speaker’s right to express views in a controversy over offensive speech. FIRE gives UW-Madison a “yellow” rating for speech, meaning that its policies could be abused to suppress free expression.

UW-Madison students display a relatively high degree of political tolerance, and we rank the school in the top 20 percent for this category. Students tell FIRE that they view illiberal attempts to disrupt campus speech as “unacceptable.” For example, 53 percent say that it is “rarely” or “never” acceptable to shout down a speaker; 81 percent say that blocking a campus speech is “rarely” or “never” acceptable; and 92 percent say that it is “rarely” or “never” acceptable to use violence in these circumstances.

The faculty is ideologically homogenous, and the school falls into the bottom 15 percent of schools that we studied in this regard. Students place faculty members toward the liberal end of the ideological continuum, with an average of 2.5 on a 7-point scale (where 1 is “very liberal” and 7 is “very conservative”). Less than 2 percent of faculty campaign contributions in the 2023–24 election cycle went to conservative or Republican causes, while 98 percent went to liberal or Democratic causes. Fewer than 1 percent of faculty are Academic Freedom Alliance or Heterodox Academy members, indicating low faculty support for free inquiry and viewpoint diversity.

UW-Madison’s curriculum needs serious reform. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives the school a D in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. The school requires students to take courses focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to graduate. ACTA has identified one area of excellence on campus: the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, which sponsors speakers, colloquia, and an essay competition on the themes of democracy and its core principles.

For graduates, UW-Madison can offer attractive options in almost all fields of work. The Princeton Review ranks its alumni network in the top 20 nationwide for public schools. It takes about 1.9 years to pay back the cost of the education. However, the median earnings of UW-Madison graduates ten years after initial enrollment are about $3,000 lower than predictions, based on SAT scores and Pell Grants. The school has a 94 percent retention rate and an 89 percent six-year graduation rate.