Programs & majors brief
University of Wisconsin-Madison Majors & Programs
Which majors earn the most at UW-Madison?
92 of 92 programs shown
Each bar is a field’s median. Program size counts degrees awarded, not unique people or the earnings sample.
Compare all matching programs
| Program | Degrees awarded | 4-yr earnings | Field rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate | 186 | $120,483 | #2 |
| Computer Engineering | 115 | $120,068 | — |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 733 | $119,655 | #20 |
| Industrial Engineering | 118 | $110,711 | #9 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 463 | $107,207 | #21 |
| International Business | 35 | $106,783 | — |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 69 | $106,521 | #19 |
| Insurance | 144 | $105,992 | #1 |
| Nuclear Engineering small degree count | 15 | $102,449 | — |
| Chemical Engineering | 103 | $101,676 | #38 |
| Mathematics | 226 | $101,438 | #19 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 119 | $101,390 | #28 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 222 | $100,005 | #26 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 106 | $99,762 | #26 |
| Statistics | 132 | $99,210 | #18 |
| Marketing | 248 | $96,148 | #8 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 183 | $95,114 | #61 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 100 | $95,059 | #121 |
| Engineering Mechanics | 33 | $92,276 | #2 |
| Materials Engineering | 47 | $91,265 | #10 |
| Civil Engineering | 98 | $87,691 | #66 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 244 | $85,579 | #177 |
| Food Science and Technology | 24 | $85,445 | — |
| Economics | 546 | $85,366 | #69 |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | 143 | $82,081 | #4 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | 30 | $81,655 | #6 |
| Agricultural Engineering | 59 | $78,368 | #19 |
| Physics | 46 | $77,380 | #44 |
| Journalism | 196 | $75,967 | #4 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 186 | $74,963 | #9 |
| Geological/Geophysical Engineering small degree count | 13 | $73,337 | — |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 189 | $72,988 | #17 |
| Agricultural Public Services | 61 | $71,726 | #2 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies | 113 | $70,123 | #5 |
| Biology, General | 389 | $69,005 | #41 |
| Genetics | 104 | $68,402 | #3 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 74 | $68,397 | #15 |
| Political Science and Government | 348 | $66,148 | #73 |
| Design and Applied Arts | 31 | $65,874 | #33 |
| Chemistry | 66 | $64,734 | #74 |
| Landscape Architecture small degree count | 9 | $63,759 | — |
| International/Globalization Studies | 98 | $63,452 | #16 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 48 | $63,061 | #11 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 94 | $61,737 | #52 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 247 | $61,270 | #63 |
| Philosophy | 69 | $61,186 | #21 |
| Geography and Cartography | 40 | $59,424 | #35 |
| Nutrition Sciences | 59 | $59,329 | #21 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 136 | $59,044 | #12 |
| Psychology, General | 495 | $58,901 | #43 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 293 | $58,824 | #26 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 26 | $58,771 | #59 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 141 | $58,565 | #30 |
| History | 119 | $58,343 | #49 |
| Sociology | 105 | $58,007 | #67 |
| Animal Sciences | 46 | $57,605 | #8 |
| Area Studies | 34 | $55,733 | #23 |
| Anthropology | 38 | $54,773 | #22 |
| Social Work | 71 | $54,375 | #73 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 102 | $53,197 | #94 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 161 | $52,631 | #85 |
| Botany/Plant Biology small degree count | 9 | $50,963 | — |
| Special Education and Teaching | 23 | $50,302 | #54 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | 50 | $50,080 | #6 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 76 | $49,640 | #118 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 64 | $49,602 | #23 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 44 | $48,934 | #46 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 72 | $48,684 | #36 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas small degree count | 18 | $48,435 | — |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management | 22 | $45,212 | — |
| Plant Sciences small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Forestry small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | 47 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Engineering Physics small degree count | 5 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 32 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 12 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 11 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Apparel and Textiles | 33 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | 21 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Applied Mathematics | 25 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Data Science | 112 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Sustainability Studies | 33 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Religion/Religious Studies small degree count | 10 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics | 20 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology small degree count | 9 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Music | 42 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft small degree count | 18 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Dance small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | 36 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Management Information Systems and Services | 40 | Too few graduates to report | — |
Program data and definitions · How to evaluate program rankings
What are the largest programs at UW-Madison?
Counts describe degrees awarded in the reporting period, not current enrollment. Program data and definitions
How do UW-Madison majors rank nationally?
National program rankings
- Insurance#1
- Agricultural Public Services#2
- Engineering Mechanics#2
- Real Estate#2
- Genetics#3
- Journalism#4
- General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations#4
- Non-Professional Legal Studies#5
- Agricultural Business and Management#6
- Zoology/Animal Biology#6
- Animal Sciences#8
- Marketing#8
- Industrial Engineering#9
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness#9
- Materials Engineering#10
- Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions#11
- Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services#12
- Microbiological Sciences and Immunology#15
- International/Globalization Studies#16
- Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology#17
- Statistics#18
- Agricultural Engineering#19
- Mathematics#19
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods#19
- Computer and Information Sciences, General#20
- Nutrition Sciences#21
- Philosophy#21
- Finance and Financial Management Services#21
- Anthropology#22
- Area Studies#23
- Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology#23
- Biomedical/Medical Engineering#26
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences#26
- Business Administration, Management and Operations#26
- Accounting and Related Services#28
- Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics#30
- Design and Applied Arts#33
- Geography and Cartography#35
- Fine and Studio Arts#36
- Chemical Engineering#38
- Biology, General#41
- Psychology, General#43
- Physics#44
- Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies#46
- History#49
Programs ranked in the national top 50, supplemented by the largest ranked programs when needed to show ten. Fewer appear when fewer ranks are reported. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.
Further analysis
Outcomes at University of Wisconsin-Madison vary sharply by field, and Azimuth's program rankings evaluate four-year earnings among federally aided completers, median debt, and cohort size rather than reputation. The university has 70 programs with published earnings data, of which 61 carry an Azimuth national rank.
The three largest program families are Business, at 17.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, Biological Sciences at 12.3%, and Social Sciences at 11.1%. The largest single program, Computer and Information Sciences, awards 733 degrees a year and its completers earn a median of $119,655 four years after completion.
That places it #20 nationally and #1 in Wisconsin. The highest-ranked program is Insurance, at #1 nationally with median earnings of $105,992.
Business Administration and Management has a benchmark of 1.47x, meaning its completers earn well above the national median for the field, and Azimuth ranks it #26.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.