flagship Endowment $1.81 billion (2012)[2] Chancellor Rebecca Blank Academic staff 2,054

Motto in English    "God, our light" or
"The divine within the universe, however manifested, is my light."[1]
Established    1848
Type    Public university flagship
Endowment    $1.81 billion (2012)[2]
Chancellor    Rebecca Blank
Academic staff    2,054
Students    42,595 (Fall 2010)[3]
Undergraduates    28,897 (Fall 2010)[3]
Postgraduates    9,358 (Fall 2010)[3]
Location    Madison, Wisconsin
Campus    Urban
936 acres (379 ha)
Sports    Wisconsin Badgers
Colors    Cardinal and white           
Mascot    Bucky Badger (Buckingham U. Badger)
Website    wisc.edu
UW-Madison logo.svg


An early illustration of the campus, from the 1885 edition of the Wisconsin Blue Book.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (also known as University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, or regionally as UW–Madison, or Madison) is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin, and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. It became a land-grant institution in 1866.[4] The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus includes four National Historic Landmarks.[5] Madison has been labeled one of the "Public Ivies," a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.[6][7]
UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools which enrolled 29,153 undergraduate, 8,710 graduate, and 2,570 professional students and granted 6,040 bachelor's, 3,328 graduate and professional degrees in 2008.[8] The university employs 2,054 faculty members. Its comprehensive academic program offers 135 undergraduate majors, along with 151 master's degree pro