University of Wisconsin-Madison majors, earnings & debt

University of Wisconsin-Madison offers 99 bachelor's majors across 10 areas. Graduates in Real Estate earn the most: a median $120,483 four years after graduating. Earnings below are for this school's own graduates in each major, not national averages.

All University of Wisconsin-Madison majors by area

Science & Math · 26 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Mathematics$67,744$101,438$20,500
Statistics$64,684$99,210$26,000
Food Science and Technology—$85,445—
Physics$36,878$77,380$20,500
Biochemistry$44,074$72,988$20,948
Agricultural Public Services$48,092$71,726$17,460
Biology$35,798$69,005$20,500
Genetics$38,388$68,402$20,000
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology$49,186$68,397$23,480
Chemistry$48,886$64,734$26,043
Neuroscience$31,687$58,824$21,750
Geology / Earth Science$43,068$58,771$25,000
Animal Sciences$44,354$57,605$26,000
Environmental Science / Conservation$28,824$52,631$19,500
Botany / Plant Biology—$50,963—
Zoology / Animal Biology$23,888$50,080$24,872
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology$28,856$49,602$19,500
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management—$45,212—
Applied Mathematics———
Astronomy and Astrophysics$45,783—$19,500
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology$36,790——
Forestry———
Pharmacology and Toxicology———
Plant Sciences———
Soil Sciences———
Sustainability Studies———
Engineering · 15 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Computer Engineering—$120,068—
Industrial Engineering$80,435$110,711$23,577
Nuclear Engineering—$102,449—
Chemical Engineering$85,945$101,676$21,947
Biomedical Engineering$74,094$99,762$20,492
Mechanical Engineering$74,611$95,114$20,500
Electrical Engineering$82,018$95,059$23,250
Engineering Mechanics$72,612$92,276$26,432
Materials Engineering$76,662$91,265$20,676
Civil Engineering$71,246$87,691$23,250
Agricultural Engineering$67,746$78,368$23,500
Geological / Geophysical Engineering—$73,337—
Landscape Architecture—$63,759—
Engineering Physics———
Engineering, Other———
Humanities & Languages · 15 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
International / Global Studies$40,594$63,452$20,469
Philosophy$35,975$61,186$24,216
Spanish / French / Romance Languages$35,720$58,565$20,250
History$35,959$58,343$20,909
Area Studies—$55,733$20,850
English$28,526$53,197$20,500
Ethnic / Gender Studies$28,841$48,934$19,750
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics———
Classics———
East Asian Languages (Chinese / Japanese / Korean)———
German———
Linguistics———
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other———
Religious Studies———
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics———
Business & Finance · 12 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Real Estate$73,239$120,483$20,500
Finance$68,681$107,207$21,500
International Business$66,591$106,783$14,000
Management Science / Analytics$83,260$106,521$22,250
Insurance$78,796$105,992$20,500
Accounting$68,909$101,390$21,294
Business Administration$67,699$100,005$20,500
Marketing$65,224$96,148$20,500
Economics$54,495$85,366$20,750
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations$57,760$82,081$21,630
Agricultural Business$49,868$81,655$14,000
Management Information Systems$73,506—$20,750
Social Sciences & Public Service · 10 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Legal Studies / Paralegal$41,144$70,123$20,980
Political Science$42,063$66,148$22,000
Geography$42,997$59,424$20,250
Human Development and Family Studies$34,149$59,044$21,250
Psychology$31,985$58,901$21,215
Sociology$35,889$58,007$17,802
Anthropology—$54,773$19,775
Social Work—$54,375$21,398
Apparel and Textiles$33,016—$26,000
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies———
Health & Medicine · 7 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Nursing$75,513$85,579$25,000
Kinesiology / Exercise Science$29,866$74,963$26,000
Rehabilitation / Therapy Sciences$32,049$63,061$23,982
Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders$14,668$61,737$25,952
Nutrition Science$34,504$59,329$20,500
Allied Health (Imaging / Therapy / Tech)—$57,745$27,000
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration———
Arts & Design · 5 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Graphic / Interior / Fashion Design$49,780$65,874$20,875
Studio Art$30,503$48,684$19,316
Dance———
Music———
Theatre———
Education · 4 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Special Education$50,174$50,302$22,863
Education (Elementary / Secondary)$45,906$49,640$23,000
Education (Subject Teaching)$45,966$48,435$27,000
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education———
Technology & Computing · 3 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Computer and Information Sciences$80,566$119,655$22,500
Data Science———
Information Science / Studies———
Communications & Media · 2 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Journalism$40,942$75,967$23,250
Communications$37,286$61,270$23,250

College Scorecard field of study, latest release: median earnings of graduates who received federal aid, 1 and 4 years after graduating; median federal loan debt. — means too few graduates to report.

From major to career

Finance → Financial analyst

$103,750
Madison
$95,570
Wisconsin
$102,740
U.S.

Median annual wage for all workers in this job. U.S. jobs projected to grow 7.2% from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry education: bachelor's degree.

BLS OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35

Biology → Biological technician

$51,750
Madison
$51,750
Wisconsin
$57,510
U.S.

Median annual wage for all workers in this job. U.S. jobs projected to grow 7.4% from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry education: bachelor's degree.

BLS OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35

Across all majors, former University of Wisconsin-Madison students earn a median $73,792 ten years after starting college, more than 92% of Wisconsin colleges we cover. 90% graduate within six years.

University of Wisconsin-Madison majors questions

How many majors does University of Wisconsin-Madison offer?

University of Wisconsin-Madison offers 99 bachelor's majors across 10 areas; the most majors are in Science & Math and Engineering.

What is the highest-paying major at University of Wisconsin-Madison?

Real Estate graduates from University of Wisconsin-Madison earn a median $120,483 four years after graduating, the highest of the 71 majors with reported earnings. Their median debt is $20,500.

Which University of Wisconsin-Madison majors earn the least?

Among majors with reported earnings, Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management graduates earn the least: a median $45,212 four years after graduating.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (field of study); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections). Back to University of Wisconsin-Madison overview