09/24/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/24/2024 06:04
UW students walk up Bascom Hill during the first day of classes for the fall semester at the UW-Madison on Sept. 4. Photo: Bryce Richter
The University of Wisconsin-Madison was ranked 39th overall out of 438 public and private doctoral institutions and 13th among public universities in the 2025 edition of U.S. News & World Report's best colleges rankings.
UW-Madison undergraduate programs received top 20 rankings in engineering, computer science, business, and economics, as well as in many subspecialties. The Wisconsin School of Business's undergraduate real estate program was ranked first nationwide.
"We are proud that we deliver a high-quality education across a great variety of disciplines, and that success continues to be recognized in these rankings," says UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. "That said, rankings are just one of many measures of any school's success, including ours."
The rankings highlight colleges that excel in such areas as reputation among peers, value, social mobility, graduation rates, faculty resources, standardized test scores and faculty research. Last year, UW was ranked 35th overall in a four-way tie and 12th among public universities in a three-way tie; five years ago, in 2019, UW-Madison was ranked 49th overall.
Each year, U.S. News ranks specific undergraduate programs and specialty areas at universities. Many of these rankings involve ties among multiple institutions. In the 2025 rankings, UW-Madison was rated among the best undergraduate programs for:
Other categories UW-Madison scored well in include:
To see the full rankings, click here.