Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Madison earn median earnings of $78,974 four years after enrollment, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 86.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $2,192 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 48.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Madison #205 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at University of Wisconsin-Madison is anchored by Artificial Intelligence, which combines large cohort scale with strong pay to form the largest aggregate-return program. Business is the dominant program family, representing 17% of degree output, followed by Social Sciences at 11% and Engineering at 10%. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 733 graduates earning median earnings of $119,655 — 1.3x the national benchmark for the field. The Economics program graduates 546 students with median earnings of $85,366, and Azimuth ranks Psychology, General #45 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $58,901. The breadth of strong programs across business, quantitative, and applied fields helps explain why University of Wisconsin-Madison's institution-level earnings consistently place well above the peer median.
Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Madison earn median earnings of $78,974 four years after enrollment, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 86.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $2,192 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 48.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Madison #205 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at University of Wisconsin-Madison is anchored by Artificial Intelligence, which combines large cohort scale with strong pay to form the largest aggregate-return program. Business is the dominant program family, representing 17% of degree output, followed by Social Sciences at 11% and Engineering at 10%. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 733 graduates earning median earnings of $119,655 — 1.3x the national benchmark for the field. The Economics program graduates 546 students with median earnings of $85,366, and Azimuth ranks Psychology, General #45 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $58,901. The breadth of strong programs across business, quantitative, and applied fields helps explain why University of Wisconsin-Madison's institution-level earnings consistently place well above the peer median.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Madison earn median earnings of $78,974 four years after enrollment, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 86.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $2,192 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 48.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Madison #205 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at University of Wisconsin-Madison is anchored by Artificial Intelligence, which combines large cohort scale with strong pay to form the largest aggregate-return program. Business is the dominant program family, representing 17% of degree output, followed by Social Sciences at 11% and Engineering at 10%. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 733 graduates earning median earnings of $119,655 — 1.3x the national benchmark for the field. The Economics program graduates 546 students with median earnings of $85,366, and Azimuth ranks Psychology, General #45 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $58,901. The breadth of strong programs across business, quantitative, and applied fields helps explain why University of Wisconsin-Madison's institution-level earnings consistently place well above the peer median.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
University of Wisconsin-Madison's program mix is anchored in Business, which accounts for 17% of degree output — the largest concentration among the institution's 92 programs serving roughly 9,733 students annually. Social Sciences represents 11% of graduates and Engineering accounts for 10%, giving the university a business-and-STEM-balanced portfolio that feeds directly into high-demand labor markets. The combination of broad program scale and applied-professional concentration shapes the institution's overall earnings profile. Among the largest programs, Artificial Intelligence program graduates 733 students annually with median earnings of $119,655 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks the program #20 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The Economics program graduates 546 students with median earnings of $85,366, while The Psychology, General program graduates 495 students earning $58,901. On the earnings side, Artificial Intelligence leads with median earnings of $119,655 from a cohort of 733 graduates, and Azimuth ranks the program #20 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Finance follows at $107,207 with 463 graduates, and Digital Marketing posts median earnings of $96,148 from 248 graduates — per the program-ranking methodology. The highest-earning programs at University of Wisconsin-Madison cluster in engineering, computer science, and quantitative business fields — sectors where the supply-demand map shows sustained employer demand and strong wage growth nationally. Several of the institution's largest programs, including Finance and Biology, General, feed high-mobility career pathways where graduates enter the national labor market directly. Programs like Nursing and Economics, with median earnings of $85,579 and $85,366 respectively, reflect the depth of applied-quantitative strength across the university's degree portfolio. ```
Lower quartile, 10-year field
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Madison earn median earnings of $78,974 four years after enrollment, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 86.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $2,192 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 48.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Madison #205 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at University of Wisconsin-Madison is anchored by Artificial Intelligence, which combines large cohort scale with strong pay to form the largest aggregate-return program. Business is the dominant program family, representing 17% of degree output, followed by Social Sciences at 11% and Engineering at 10%. Among the highest-earning programs, Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 733 graduates earning median earnings of $119,655 — 1.3x the national benchmark for the field. The Economics program graduates 546 students with median earnings of $85,366, and Azimuth ranks Psychology, General #45 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $58,901. The breadth of strong programs across business, quantitative, and applied fields helps explain why University of Wisconsin-Madison's institution-level earnings consistently place well above the peer median.
