A degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison provides real benefits to graduates and to the state of Wisconsin.
In 2020, the UW System’s Office of Policy Analysis and Research set out to quantify those benefits using anonymized graduation, residence, and earnings data. Subsequently, UW–Madison’s Academic Planning and Institutional Research (APIR), a unit of the Office of The Provost, analyzed data specific to UW–Madison. The results:
- Graduates with Bachelor’s and advanced degrees earn salaries of between $51,843 and $64,481 a year after graduation; within fifteen years, those salaries more than double.
- More than 82% of Wisconsin resident students and 20% of non-resident students stay in Wisconsin five years after earning their degree.
UW Board of Regents President Drew Petersen said in a story published by Wisconsin Public Radio that this data shows UW graduates have “tremendous lifelong earning potential.”
“I have long believed there is no better investment for the state of Wisconsin than the University of Wisconsin System and that the UW System is a terrific investment for our students as well,” said Petersen in a UW System press release. “This data validates those beliefs.”
According to the press release, “The analysis by the UW System’s Office of Policy Analysis and Research merges graduation, residence, and earnings data for the first time to calculate the economic impact of a UW System education. The results are more precise than typical post-graduation surveys, which rely on self-reported data. Information from more than 12,000 graduates over the past six years was used in the confidential analysis.”
