Graduate School Data

The UW–Madison Graduate School is committed to data transparency about student experiences and employment outcomes.

Admissions and enrollment

For fall 2025, the admission rate was 23.3%. The enrollment (yield) rate was 39.5%. Admissions and enrollment information for individual programs is also available.

Admissions and enrollment data

Admissions and Enrollment bar chart showing 26,559 students applied, 6,191 were admitted, and 2,413 students enrolled for fall 2025.

Doctoral student funding

In fall 2025, 85% of PhD students had full funding through UW in the form of graduate assistantships and fellowships. Other students generally rely on a combination of funding sources such as external funding, employment, personal savings, and loans.

Graduate student funding data

PhD Student Funding pie chart data for fall 2025 shows 35 percent of PhD students were research assistants, 32 percent were teaching assistants, 15 percent had other funding, 11 percent were fellows, 5 percent were project assistants, and 3 percent were trainees.

Degrees awarded

UW–Madison granted over 3,700 graduate degrees in 2025-26 (including 2,861 master’s degrees and 930 PhD degrees), with a median time to degree of 5.8 years for a PhD degree and 1.8 years for a master’s degree.

Degrees, retention, and completion

Graduation cap and ribbon icons with text saying 2,861 master's degrees awarded and 930 PhD degrees awarded.

Doctoral career outcomes

PhD alumni hold careers in a variety of sectors, with at least 46% of PhD graduates working in academia. Almost a third (at least 31%) of graduates work in for-profit industries. Some also work in government (at least 6%) and non-profit organizations (at least 6%).

Doctoral career outcomes data

Donut chart showing approximate doctoral career outcomes: 31% in academia, 31% in for-profit, 6% in government, 6% in nonprofit, 1% not classified, and 10% not located.

Data publications and projects

Data Brief

What types of career advising do our master’s students receive?

Published November 2025

Data Brief

What are the career interests of our master’s students?

Published May 2025

Data Brief

Understanding UW–Madison PhD Career Pathways: Career Preferences, Outcomes, and Alignment

Published August 2019

Two graduate students on a boat in Lake Mendota take water samples

Data Project

Coalition for Next Generation Life Science

Recognizing the lack of clear marketplace information on career options for life scientists, UW–Madison joined other research universities and a major cancer institute to form a coalition that has publicly posted career outcomes data for biomedical scientists.