Which UW-Madison major has the lowest debt?

International Business and Agricultural Business graduates leave with a median of $14,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 63 UW-Madison bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does UW-Madison cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $11,603 a year, and $42,103 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $17,354 a year.

How many UW-Madison programs report graduate pay?

64 bachelor's programs at UW-Madison report first-year pay, and 63 of them also report federal debt.

UW-Madison Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public university
Madison, WI
36,902 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

64 UW-Madison bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Chemical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($85,945), and Communication Sciences and Disorders the least ($14,668). The median program pays $45,845.

In-state tuition and fees$11,603Per year. Out-of-state $42,103

Average net price after aid$17,354Per year

Graduation rate90%Within 6 years

Admission rate45%Of applicants

All 64 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Wisconsin" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Wisconsin. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Wisconsin
1	Chemical EngineeringAbout 102 graduates a year	$85,945	$102,023	$21,947	1st of 3
2	Management ScienceAbout 61 graduates a year	$83,260	$126,855	$22,250	1st of 1
3	Electrical EngineeringAbout 100 graduates a year	$82,018	$93,494	$23,250	1st of 5
4	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 864 graduates a year	$80,566	$118,588	$22,500	1st of 9
5	Industrial EngineeringAbout 99 graduates a year	$80,435	$110,022	$23,577	1st of 4
6	InsuranceAbout 94 graduates a year	$78,796	$110,596	$20,500	1st of 2
7	Materials EngineeringAbout 24 graduates a year	$76,662	$85,207	$20,676	1st of 2
8	NursingAbout 218 graduates a year	$75,513	$81,103	$25,000	2nd of 19
9	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 218 graduates a year	$74,611	$97,845	$20,500	1st of 6
10	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 137 graduates a year	$74,094	$94,667	$20,492	1st of 4
11	Management Information SystemsAbout 48 graduates a year	$73,506	Not reported	$20,750	1st of 6
12	Real EstateAbout 169 graduates a year	$73,239	$119,949	$20,500	1st of 3
13	Engineering MechanicsAbout 32 graduates a year	$72,612	$86,480	$26,432	1st of 1
14	Civil EngineeringAbout 87 graduates a year	$71,246	$83,988	$23,250	2nd of 5
15	AccountingAbout 109 graduates a year	$68,909	$96,130	$21,294	1st of 19
16	FinanceAbout 521 graduates a year	$68,681	$106,484	$21,500	1st of 10
17	Agricultural EngineeringAbout 47 graduates a year	$67,746	$78,773	$23,500	1st of 2
18	MathematicsAbout 237 graduates a year	$67,744	$100,406	$20,500	1st of 9
19	Business AdministrationAbout 231 graduates a year	$67,699	$92,203	$20,500	1st of 24
20	International BusinessAbout 53 graduates a year	$66,591	$103,185	$14,000	1st of 4
21	MarketingAbout 252 graduates a year	$65,224	$99,093	$20,500	1st of 13
22	StatisticsAbout 92 graduates a year	$64,684	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 1
23	Sales and MerchandisingAbout 232 graduates a year	$57,760	$73,814	$21,630	1st of 3
24	EconomicsAbout 587 graduates a year	$54,495	$84,958	$20,750	2nd of 9
25	Special EducationAbout 32 graduates a year	$50,174	$55,063	$22,863	1st of 10
26	Agricultural BusinessAbout 31 graduates a year	$49,868	$74,752	$14,000	3rd of 3
27	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 32 graduates a year	$49,780	$58,646	$20,875	1st of 9
28	MicrobiologyAbout 53 graduates a year	$49,186	$65,144	$23,480	2nd of 2
29	ChemistryAbout 81 graduates a year	$48,886	$73,896	$26,043	4th of 6
30	Agricultural Public ServicesAbout 55 graduates a year	$48,092	$69,239	$17,460	1st of 1
31	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 27 graduates a year	$45,966	$46,338	$27,000	4th of 13
32	Teacher EducationAbout 86 graduates a year	$45,906	$51,263	$23,000	4th of 19
33	Astronomy and AstrophysicsAbout 28 graduates a year	$45,783	Not reported	$19,500	1st of 1
34	Animal ScienceAbout 35 graduates a year	$44,354	$57,024	$26,000	2nd of 3
35	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 183 graduates a year	$44,074	$71,370	$20,948	2nd of 3
36	Geology and Earth ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$43,068	$71,564	$25,000	2nd of 4
37	GeographyAbout 53 graduates a year	$42,997	$62,158	$20,250	1st of 5
38	Political ScienceAbout 384 graduates a year	$42,063	$68,593	$22,000	2nd of 10
39	Legal StudiesAbout 126 graduates a year	$41,144	$65,938	$20,980	1st of 1
40	JournalismAbout 221 graduates a year	$40,942	$68,253	$23,250	1st of 3
41	International StudiesAbout 109 graduates a year	$40,594	$61,225	$20,469	1st of 3
42	GeneticsAbout 87 graduates a year	$38,388	$68,301	$20,000	1st of 1
43	CommunicationsAbout 304 graduates a year	$37,286	$57,874	$23,250	11th of 15
44	PhysicsAbout 51 graduates a year	$36,878	$69,928	$20,500	3rd of 3
45	Atmospheric Science and MeteorologyAbout 17 graduates a year	$36,790	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
46	PhilosophyAbout 81 graduates a year	$35,975	$56,645	$24,216	1st of 3
47	HistoryAbout 153 graduates a year	$35,959	$58,333	$20,909	3rd of 10
48	SociologyAbout 106 graduates a year	$35,889	$60,766	$17,802	6th of 9
49	BiologyAbout 440 graduates a year	$35,798	$68,812	$20,500	10th of 20
50	Romance LanguagesAbout 157 graduates a year	$35,720	$60,761	$20,250	7th of 9
51	Nutrition ScienceAbout 64 graduates a year	$34,504	$65,131	$20,500	1st of 2
52	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 158 graduates a year	$34,149	$55,416	$21,250	2nd of 2
53	Apparel and TextilesAbout 18 graduates a year	$33,016	Not reported	$26,000	2nd of 2
54	Rehabilitation and TherapyAbout 36 graduates a year	$32,049	$60,975	$23,982	4th of 5
55	PsychologyAbout 589 graduates a year	$31,985	$61,607	$21,215	18th of 22
56	NeuroscienceAbout 288 graduates a year	$31,687	Not reported	$21,750	1st of 2
57	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 68 graduates a year	$30,503	$39,038	$19,316	5th of 11
58	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 183 graduates a year	$29,866	$70,830	$26,000	10th of 13
59	Ecology and EvolutionAbout 74 graduates a year	$28,856	$39,796	$19,500	1st of 1
60	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 38 graduates a year	$28,841	$52,025	$19,750	2nd of 2
61	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 173 graduates a year	$28,824	$53,967	$19,500	6th of 7
62	EnglishAbout 120 graduates a year	$28,526	$53,044	$20,500	10th of 10
63	ZoologyAbout 61 graduates a year	$23,888	$49,352	$24,872	2nd of 2
64	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 91 graduates a year	$14,668	$63,832	$25,952	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and Wisconsin ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Wisconsin programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

4 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Chemical Engineering$85,945
Management Science$83,260
Electrical Engineering$82,018
Computer and Information Science$80,566
Industrial Engineering$80,435

Lowest median debt

International Business$14,000
Agricultural Business$14,000
Agricultural Public Services$17,460
Sociology$17,802
Fine and Studio Arts$19,316

Largest programs

Computer and Information ScienceAbout 864 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 589 graduates a year
EconomicsAbout 587 graduates a year
FinanceAbout 521 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 440 graduates a year

Common questions

Chemical Engineering graduates earn a median of $85,945 in their first year, the most of 64 UW-Madison bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Wisconsin rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels