Graduate School Data
The UW–Madison Graduate School is committed to data transparency about student experiences and employment outcomes.
Admissions and enrollment
For fall 2024, the admission rate was 29%. The enrollment (yield) rate was 39%. Admissions and enrollment information for individual programs is also available.
Doctoral student funding
In fall 2024, 88% of PhD students had full funding through UW in the form of graduate assistantships and fellowships. Other students generally rely on a combination of funding sources such as external funding, employment, personal savings, and loans.
Degrees awarded
UW–Madison granted over 3,700 graduate degrees in 2024-25 (including 2,783 master’s degrees and 924 PhD degrees), with a median time to degree of 5.8 years for a PhD degree and 1.8 years for a master’s degree.
Doctoral career outcomes
PhD alumni hold careers in a variety of sectors, with at least 46% of PhD graduates working in academia. Almost a third (at least 31%) of graduates work in for-profit industries. Some also work in government (at least 6%) and non-profit organizations (at least 6%).
Data publications and projects
Data Brief
Understanding UW–Madison PhD Career Pathways: Career Preferences, Outcomes, and Alignment
Published August 2019
Data Project
Coalition for Next Generation Life Science
Recognizing the lack of clear marketplace information on career options for life scientists, UW–Madison joined other research universities and a major cancer institute to form a coalition that has publicly posted career outcomes data for biomedical scientists.
The Graduate School
217 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Front Desk Hours:
Fall and Spring Hours
(September – April):
Monday – Friday
10 am – 3 pm
Summer Hours (May – August):
Monday – Friday
10 am – noon
Faculty/Staff Resources
Connect
Prospective students and applicants:
Current students:
