College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

WIMedium public institution · Overall rank #385 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Whitewater #385 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The fit is clearest for a student who wants a public university in Wisconsin with a strong business orientation. Business accounts for the largest share of degrees at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the model attributes the gap more to a remainder it cannot explain than to the factors it measures. Return is modestly below average.

Pell recipients complete at a rate above the cohort as a whole, and the lowest income band pays well under the published cost. Affordability is above average and access is around the average.

The admission rate is near the median for comparable institutions. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the best-paid programs are not the largest ones.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
85.7%
Six-year completion[2]
58.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$58,704

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,176
Median student debt[4]
$23,188
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,635

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater enrolls 9,405 undergraduates as a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Its overall standing sits above the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (composite at the 74th percentile).

85.7% of applicants are admitted to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, against a peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Full-time students continue after the first year at a rate of 78.0%, against a peer median of 73.7%.

For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 58.9%, against a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 23.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so many undergraduates did not begin their studies here.

At University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the four sit far apart. Mobility is the strongest (at the 88th percentile) and return is the weakest (at the 44th percentile). Access and affordability fall between them (at the 54th and 73rd percentiles).

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth places the university in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That shows the degree to which graduates reach earnings that outpace their pre-college economic circumstances.

Affordability follows in the 73rd percentile, access in the 54th percentile, and the return pillar is the weakest, in the 44th percentile. The return figure captures earnings relative to cost and expectations, and it is the one pillar that sits below the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

25.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the federal aid for students with significant financial need. At this public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the middle 50% of enrolled students who submitted ACT scores fell between 17 and 24.

Pell recipients complete at 63.9%, 5.0 percentage points above the first-time full-time six-year graduation rate (58.9%). For access, Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Whitewater #681 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For mobility, the university ranks #183 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Completers earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students, the institutional earnings result measured by the model. That combination leaves mobility and earnings pointing in opposite directions.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#385

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 88
Access & reach
National percentile: 54
Affordability
National percentile: 73
Return on investment
National percentile: 44

Top-ranked majors

  1. Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians#5
  2. Criminology#7
  3. Visual and Performing Arts, General#8

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater cost & financial aid[6][7]

Attending University of Wisconsin-Whitewater carries a published annual cost of attendance of $18,719, though financial aid typically lowers what families actually pay. Wisconsin residents face tuition and fees of $8,616, while out-of-state students pay $18,716; room and board add $8,090.

Grants and scholarships reduce the sticker price by an average of $4,561, bringing the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—to $14,158. That runs above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $90.

The university sits in the 73rd percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, publishes a cost of attendance of $18,719, with in-state tuition and fees of $8,616 and room and board at $8,090. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $8,440, rising to $11,176 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and $18,229 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,789, a difference of averages, not what any family pays. Azimuth ranks the university #378 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 24% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $4,561 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $14,158, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $90.

Out-of-state students face tuition and fees of $18,716, more than double the in-state rate, though the net price figures here are on an in-state basis. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $23,188.

That debt is above the peer median of $21,229 by $1,959, and 91.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $264.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS carry a separate median of $18,635.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,176

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Federal loans reach 91.8% of federal aid recipients at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The typical completer who borrowed carries $23,188 in federal student debt.

That median sits above the $21,229 level at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,959. Parents who borrow through PLUS, a separate population, carry a median debt of $18,635.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's strongest pillar is mobility, and its return picture is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $58,704 four years after completion, which sits in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is above the peer median of $57,301, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $1,403. On earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—the university's completers earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students.

That is an outcome in the 26th percentile. Earnings scenarios from the program mix show a typical earnings level of $58,704, with a downside scenario of $48,057 and an upside scenario of $76,309.

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median federal student debt of $23,188, which is above the peer median of $21,229 by $1,959. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years.

The median earnings figure sits above the peer median while the earnings-beyond-expectations result falls below the model's prediction, so the return picture pulls in two directions.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $18,635. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,188
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,635

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$237/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $58,704, at the 46th percentile nationally. That is $1,403 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,808.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,443. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $191.

Azimuth places the university at the 44th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The strongest pillar at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is mobility, where Azimuth ranks the university #183 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $58,704, which is above the median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

However, graduates earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students, placing the university in the 26th percentile nationally. The earnings cohort includes 3,231 completers.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome that matches the institutional median, with a downside scenario of $48,057 and an upside scenario reaching $76,309. An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The median earnings place the university in the 46th percentile nationally. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios reflects the range of outcomes tied to the program mix, with the upside scenario reaching well above the institutional median.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater records a median of $58,704 four years after completion for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled, at the 46th percentile. Comparable institutions (same type and size) post a median of $57,301, leaving this campus $1,403 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks the university #820 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap sits at the 26th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,808.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,443. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $191.

Business and education fields award the largest shares of bachelor's degrees, and programs in communication and journalism are also represented. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, run from $48,057 on the downside to $76,309 on the upside.

An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, estimated from the program mix, show a wide spread. They run from $48,057 on the downside to $76,309 on the upside, with $58,704 as the typical earnings scenario.

The highest-earning programs show what the upper end looks like. International Business graduates earn a median of $89,687 four years after completion, from 11 degrees awarded a year.

Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians follows at $81,385, with 50 degrees awarded.

Graduates of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $23,188, which runs above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $264. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $14,158, which is above the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions by just $90.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $8,440, and it is $11,176 for the $48,001–$75,000 band. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $18,635.

The return picture is mixed. Earnings fall short of the model's expectation.

The debt load is only modestly above the median for comparable institutions. The net price for lower-income families is low.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,808
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$16,443
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$7,635

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater admits 85.7% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university is open to most students who apply, and the admission rate reflects that broad-access mission.

Admissions
Admission rate
85.7%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater?[12]

The university's program mix spans fields with very different earnings outcomes, and Azimuth ranks 28 of them nationally. Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians carries the strongest national rank at #5 in its field and #1 in Wisconsin.

The program awarded 50 degrees and shows a median of $81,385 four years after completion. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management awarded 222 degrees and shows a median of $73,415, ranking #118 nationally.

Finance follows with 190 degrees awarded, a median of $72,928, and an Azimuth national rank of #119. The second-largest program, Teacher Education, awarded 195 degrees and reports a median of $46,637, ranking #158 nationally.

The spread between these fields shows how earnings vary by program at the same university.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has 28 bachelor's programs that carry an Azimuth national rank. The highest-ranked is Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians, which sits at #5 nationally and #1 in Wisconsin.

That program awarded 50 degrees, and its completers earn a median of $81,385 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management is the biggest field, with 222 degrees awarded and a national rank of #118; completers earn a median of $73,415 four years after completion.

Marketing awarded 175 degrees and ranks #94 nationally, with completers earning a median of $67,317 four years after completion. Visual and Performing Arts ranks #8 nationally and #1 in Wisconsin.

The program awarded 33 degrees, and its completers earn a median of $47,819 four years after completion.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater awards bachelor's degrees across 28 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 38 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 40.2% of degrees awarded, followed by Education at 14.4% and Communication & Journalism at 6.3%.

The largest single programs are Business Administration and Management at 222 degrees awarded, Teacher Education at 195, and Finance at 190. The highest-ranked program is Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians, which Azimuth ranks #1 in Wisconsin within its field.

It awards 50 degrees a year and graduates earn a median of $81,385 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 0.94x against the national median for its field. Criminology ranks #7 nationally and #1 in Wisconsin within its field, with 58 degrees awarded and median earnings of $63,365.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: International Business graduates earn $89,687 four years out, from 11 degrees a year. Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians follows at $81,385 with 50 degrees awarded, and Computer and Information Sciences follows at $79,799 with 63 degrees awarded.

Visual and Performing Arts, which ranks #8 nationally and #1 in Wisconsin within its field, awards 33 degrees a year with median earnings of $47,819. The pattern is a business-heavy mix where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Business Administration and Management, the biggest program, earns $73,415 and ranks #118 nationally within its field, while the highest-earning programs are smaller and more specialized. Across all fields, 8.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 222 degrees awarded
$73,415
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 195 degrees awarded
$46,637
Finance and Financial Management Services 190 degrees awarded
$72,928
Marketing 175 degrees awarded
$67,317
Accounting and Related Services 105 degrees awarded
$78,762
Psychology, General 97 degrees awarded
$52,284

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

How does University of Wisconsin-Whitewater serve students from different backgrounds?

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater stands out for mobility: Azimuth ranks it #183 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 58.9%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 63.9%, above the overall rate by 5.0 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $7,635 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 26th percentile. The mobility pillar sits in the 88th percentile, reflecting a school where Pell students complete at a rate that exceeds the overall figure.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, enrolls 9,405 undergraduates. Its admission rate of 85.7% is nearly identical to the median for comparable public institutions, which is 85.9%.

Pell Grant recipients account for 25.2% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 23.7% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 54th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / University of Wisconsin-Whitewater briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Admissions peerAurora University80.9% admitted
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterAurora University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$64,521+$5,817 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$18,838+$4,680 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%80.9%
Explore Aurora University →
Higher-admission alternativeRoosevelt University97.2% admitted
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterRoosevelt University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$58,796+$92 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$20,194+$6,036 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%97.2%
Explore Roosevelt University →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-ParksideNearby option · WI
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterUniversity of Wisconsin-Parkside
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$55,184-$3,520 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$11,772-$2,386 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · lower cost
Admission rate85.7%75.4%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Parkside →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville$70,899 earnings
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$70,899+$12,195 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$16,032+$1,874 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%89.4%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Platteville →
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$51,985-$6,719 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$2,835-$11,323 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · lower cost
Admission rate85.7%100.0%
Similar profileUniversity of Wisconsin-La CrosseMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-WhitewaterUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,704$60,184+$1,480 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Average annual net price$14,158$16,210+$2,052 vs University of Wisconsin-Whitewater · higher cost
Admission rate85.7%75.5%
Explore University of Wisconsin-La Crosse →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings