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Fifty-six percent of all students receive financial aid in a combination of loans, work-study and grants. The gap between available funds and the number of qualified students applying for them is estimated at $15 million – and growing.

Fifty-six percent of all students receive financial aid in a combination of loans, work-study and grants. The gap between available funds and the number of qualified students applying for them is estimated at $15 million – and growing.

Facts at a glance

A great university trains the scholars, teachers and scientists of the future.

  • One in approximately 790 people in the United States holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • UW-Madison alumni and faculty have improved the lives of millions, from the discovery of Vitamin D and Warfarin to the first isolation and culturing of human embryonic stems cells to the development of Social Security and the creation of Pulitzer Prize-winning literature.
  • Access to affordable, world-class education has been a Wisconsin hallmark for 160 years.
  • Chancellor Biddy Martin has made the preservation of an affordable, world-class education at UW-Madison her highest priority.
  • Today, 22 percent of all students are the first members of their families to attend college.
  • The University of Wisconsin Foundation’s Great People Scholarship Campaign is the private support component of The Madison Initiative.
  • The UW Foundation will match gifts to the Great People Scholarship Campaign up to a total of $20 million. Named endowments can be established by individuals or groups who are able to give a total of $25,000 over three years for a 100 percent match. Gifts to a specific school or college will be matched at 50 percent.
  • Donors to the Great People Scholarship help to ensure that tomorrow’s leaders can attend the university today. Make a gift and make a real difference.