UW–Madison 13th among public universities in Wall Street Journal rankings

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is 13th among public universities and has risen to 65th overall among 797 public and private colleges in the latest Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings. Last year, the university ranked 67th overall. UW–Madison is also listed as fourth in the Big Ten.

The rankings are based on 15 key indicators that assess colleges in four areas: outcomes, resources, engagement and environment.

UW–Madison performed especially well in engagement, scoring 87.4 out of 100. The score represents 20 percent of the overall ranking and measures students’ engagement with their studies, their interaction with their teachers and their satisfaction with their experience.

The university also performed well in outcomes, scoring 85.7 out of 100. The score represents 40 percent of the overall ranking and looks at graduation rates, value added to graduate salary, debt after graduation and academic reputation.

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Earlier this week, U.S. News & World Report listed UW–Madison 13th among public universities in a four-way tie, and 42nd among public and private colleges overall in a five-way tie — up from a tie for 46th last year.

UW–Madison has performed well in other recent rankings, including:

• Washington Monthly magazine, ranking 21st overall (up from 23rd last year) and 12th among public universities (up from 13th last year).
• 28th by Money Magazine’s list of Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value.
• UW–Madison is 49th worldwide, up from 51st last year, in Times Higher Education’s (THE) World University Rankings. THE World University Rankings are based on teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook. Overall, UW–Madison ranked 35th in teaching, based on: doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio; doctorates awarded to academic staff; teaching reputation; institutional income relative to the number of academic staff; and proportion of students to academic staff. The UW ranked 50th in research, based on: publications per staff; research income relative to the number of academic staff; and research reputation.
• UW–Madison was ranked 38th in the world by The Three University Missions, which evaluates the quality of education, scientific work, and the universities’ contribution to society. The Three University Missions describes itself as the first global university ranking to respond to the changes in global education due to the COVID-19 pandemic through a broad range of indicators evaluating the relationship between university and society.
• Earlier in August, UW–Madison was ranked highly in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, coming in at 32nd in the world and 23rd in the United States. UW–Madison is the third-highest ranked Big Ten school, behind only the University of Michigan and Northwestern University.
• UW–Madison also performed well in the Center for World University Rankings released in June, ranked 26th worldwide and 20th nationally.