What Is UW-Madison Known For? 6 Things to Know

UW-Madison is known for a campus on the shore of Lake Mendota, the Memorial Union Terrace and its sunburst chairs, Jump Around at Camp Randall, State Street, and research that ranks fifth in the country by spending. Below is each one with the university's own sources, and how to see them on a private, student-led tour of Madison.

What is UW-Madison known for?

UW-Madison is known for its lakes, its student traditions and its research. Here are six things it is known for, each with its source, as of November 2026:

A campus between two lakes. Downtown Madison sits on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, and campus runs along the shore of Lake Mendota (Destination Madison).
The Memorial Union Terrace. A lakeside patio with 2,000 sunburst chairs, open since 1928 (Wisconsin Union).
Jump Around. Camp Randall Stadium has jumped to House of Pain's song between the third and fourth quarters since October 10, 1998.
State Street. A pedestrian street connecting campus to the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Research. UW-Madison ranks fifth in the United States for research spending, $1.93 billion in fiscal 2024, by the National Science Foundation's count.
The Wisconsin Idea. The university's guiding principle that education should reach people "beyond the boundaries of the classroom."

UW-Madison was founded in 1848 and is a public land-grant university, with 51,822 students in fall 2025 (UW-Madison facts).

Is UW-Madison a top research university?

Yes, UW-Madison is a top research university: it ranks fifth in the United States for university research spending, its highest place since 2014, in the National Science Foundation's survey released December 23, 2025. Spending reached a record $1.93 billion in fiscal 2024, and 925 universities were ranked (UW-Madison News).

Other numbers the university publishes (About UW-Madison and its facts page):

23 Nobel Prizes and 43 Pulitzer Prize winners.
14 schools and colleges on a 939-acre main campus.
A first-year retention rate of 96.3% and a four-year graduation rate of 78.0%.

In U.S. News & World Report's 2027 Best Colleges rankings, released September 22, 2026, UW-Madison placed 34th overall and 8th among public universities. The same release lists the undergraduate real estate program first for the fifth year in a row and insurance and risk management first (UW-Madison News).

The research ties to the Wisconsin Idea. UW President Charles Van Hise put it this way in 1905: "I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every family of the state" (Wisconsin Idea).

Why is UW-Madison on the lakes, and what is the isthmus?

UW-Madison sits on the lakes because Madison itself is built on an isthmus, a narrow strip of land between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. Destination Madison calls downtown Madison "one of only two major U.S. cities built on an isthmus" (Downtown Madison FAQs).

Campus runs along the shore of Lake Mendota, and the lake shows up in daily student life:

The Lakeshore Path runs along Lake Mendota beside the Memorial Union Terrace.
The Lakeshore Nature Preserve is a 300-acre natural area on campus, including Picnic Point (Lakeshore Nature Preserve).
Outdoor UW and the Wisconsin Hoofers work out of Memorial Union's lower level, where students and the community join six outdoor clubs.

State Street joins campus to the Wisconsin State Capitol. Library Mall, at the campus end, to the Capitol is 0.78 miles, about 17 minutes on foot by OpenStreetMap foot routes. Our one-day UW-Madison visit plan walks it with parking and lunch stops.

What is the Memorial Union Terrace at UW-Madison?

The Memorial Union Terrace at UW-Madison is the lakeside patio behind Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street, on Lake Mendota, known for its sunburst chairs. The Wisconsin Union says the Terrace holds 2,000 chairs, with seating first come, first served (Plan your Terrace visit).

Memorial Union opened on October 5, 1928, and the Terrace was built that summer and fall. The chairs come in three colors, John Deere green, Allis Chalmers orange and yellow, as a tribute to Wisconsin's farming tradition, according to the Terrace history.

What a visiting family should know:

It is seasonal. The Terrace was closed for the season as of November 7, 2026.
Anyone can come. The Wisconsin Union is a membership group, and visitors can buy a $1 one-day membership at Memorial Union restaurants and cafés.
Indoors stays open. Der Rathskeller, a German beer hall style room with two fireplaces, shows televised UW games. The Daily Scoop serves Babcock Dairy ice cream from the campus dairy plant.

The Babcock Hall Dairy Store, 1605 Linden Drive, is the source: UW's visit office calls it the oldest university dairy plant in the United States.

What is Jump Around at Camp Randall?

Jump Around at Camp Randall is the UW-Madison football tradition of the crowd jumping to House of Pain's "Jump Around" between the third and fourth quarters of home games. It began on October 10, 1998, at the homecoming game against Purdue, according to the alumni association's On Wisconsin magazine.

The song has played at every home game since, except one. During stadium renovations in 2003, the athletic director pulled it over concern about the jumping. The student section booed, a safety engineering study found no structural risk, and the song returned at the next game.

Camp Randall Stadium itself, at 1440 Monroe Street on the west side of campus:

Built in 1917, with a current capacity of 76,030, according to UW Athletics.
On the site of a Civil War training camp where more than 70,000 troops drilled. The state gave the land to the university in 1893.
About a 9-minute walk from Union South, where the official campus tour starts.

The last home game of 2026 is Friday, November 27, against Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. CT. To see Camp Randall, the Terrace and State Street with a current student, a private tour is $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes, any day of the week.

Frequently asked questions

How many students go to UW-Madison?

UW-Madison enrolled 51,822 students in fall 2025: 37,198 undergraduates, 10,069 graduate students, 2,560 professional students and 1,995 special students, according to the university's facts page. That fall's entering class was 8,495 freshmen, admitted from 73,912 applicants.

How much is tuition at UW-Madison?

Tuition and fees at UW-Madison for 2026-27 are $12,416 for full-time Wisconsin resident undergraduates and $45,932 for nonresidents, counting tuition and the segregated fee, according to the Bursar's Office. Engineering, business and nursing students pay an added tuition differential. Housing and meals are extra.

What is the Wisconsin Idea?

The Wisconsin Idea is UW-Madison's principle that education should influence people's lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom. The university calls it one of its longest and deepest traditions and traces it to President Charles Van Hise, who said in 1905 that the university's influence should reach "every family of the state."