UW rises to 36th overall, 12th among publics in U.S. News rankings

The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked among the top 40 institutions in the country for undergraduate education for the fourth consecutive year, according to the 2026 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings released today.

UW-Madison was ranked 36th overall out of 438 public and private doctoral institutions and 12th among public universities - up from 39th and 13th, respectively, in 2025. It also rose 42 places to 47th in the "Best Value Schools" ranking, which factors in financial aid and the net cost of attendance along with the overall ranking.

UW-Madison's undergraduate nursing program ranked eighth overall and fifth among publics, and the university's undergraduate programs also received top 20 rankings in engineering, computer sciences, business, economics and psychology. The Wisconsin School of Business's undergraduate real estate program was ranked first nationwide for the fourth consecutive year.

"Rankings are just one of many measures of any school's success, including ours, but I am gratified to see our excellence recognized," says Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. "This university is dedicated both to meeting the highest standards of educational excellence across a tremendous array of academic disciplines and to advancing the kinds of fresh ideas and innovations in teaching and learning that will shape the future of education."

Mnookin noted the university continues to build on its excellence with the Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative, bringing new faculty into emerging, high-impact fields to expand opportunities for students, and by building and modernizing key campus facilities.

The rankings highlight colleges that excel in such areas as reputation among peers, financial value, social mobility, graduation rates, faculty resources, standardized test scores and faculty research.

Each year, U.S. News ranks specific undergraduate programs and specialty areas at universities. In the 2026 rankings, UW-Madison was rated among the best undergraduate programs for:

Undergraduate Programs

UW-Madison was also highly ranked in several specialty rankings, reflecting UW-Madison's commitments to affordability, serving veterans, and the undergraduate student experience:

Specialty Rankings

Visit the U.S. News & World Report's website to see the overall rankings and methodology.