The Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison took a major step forward in fall 2007, when it received an $85 million naming gift. The naming gift is helping us achieve our goal of providing an educational experience that transforms the lives of our students.
At the undergraduate level, our program is ranked among the top programs in the nation each year by U.S. News & World Report and continues to make great strides.
Our full-time Wisconsin MBA is gaining increasing national recognition for our unique specialized MBA approach that produces business leaders able to achieve quickly and notably in their chosen fields. Our Wisconsin Enterprise MBA Programs serve the needs of working professionals.
In Executive Education, our top-quality programs for business professionals were ranked number 1 in the world by the Financial Times of London for “value for your money.”
Faculty and Research Excellence
Our faculty earn national attention, win major awards and are ranked among the best in the nation on a variety of measures.
- Hollis Skaife's research on capital market regulation has gained national attention.
- Jan Heide has been identified as one of the most highly cited researchers in the field of marketing.
- Larry Rittenberg has been named one of the nation’s 100 most influential people in finance.
- Morris Davis is a nationally recognized expert on housing prices.
Student Opportunities
- The Wisconsin School of Business is known for its strength in case competitions at both the undergraduate and MBA levels. Student teams compete —and win— against top schools around the nation.
- Business students can take advantage of 20 semester-long study abroad programs and a half-dozen summer programs.
- More than 30 business-based student organizations offer students the chance to learn about business and network with professionals.
- Business students work in cross-functional teams to compete in the G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition, which has launched several businesses over the years.
- The Accenture Leadership Center, which opened fall 2006, offers multiple opportunities for undergraduate business students at UW-Madison to learn leadership skills outside the classroom.
Alumni and Corporate Support
- More than 35,000 Wisconsin School of Business alumni form a global network.
- 17 industry-related advisory boards composed of more than 320 executives meet regularly to share best practices.
- Each year, more than 450 employers travel to campus or use video conference facilities to interview Wisconsin School of Business undergraduates, working with the Business Career Center. Wisconsin MBA students are highly sought after by leading firms and have career resources offered by the MBA Career Management Center.
National Rankings and Honors
- Wisconsin’s undergraduate business program was ranked 12th in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings. Real Estate was ranked second, and Insurance/ Risk Management was ranked third. In all, six programs were ranked in the top 20.
- The MBA program was ranked 29th by U.S. News & World Report.
- Executive Education programs were ranked 23rd in the world and 13th in the U.S. by the Financial Times.
- The Real Estate program at both the graduate and undergraduate level is ranked among the top handful of programs in the nation.
- Wisconsin is one of 31 universities named a national Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).
- The Financial Times ranked the Fluno Center for Executive Education No. 1 in the world for food and accommodations in custom programs for the third year in a row.
- According to BusinessWeek, 14 of the CEOs at S&P 500 companies hold undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin, putting UW in a tie with Harvard for first place, ahead of Princeton, Stanford, Yale and the University of Texas, among others.
Executive Education
- Executive Education, based in the Fluno Center, offers more than 200 public programs covering 80 business topics annually, as well as numerous custom programs for companies worldwide. It is one of the largest executive education programs in the United States.
- Programs in strategy, leadership and executive development complement
established certificate series in areas such as basic and mid-management, project
management, marketing, operations and supply chain management.
Facilities
Grainger Hall--260,000-square-foot structure includes 30 classrooms, three high-tech auditoriums with multi-media and broadcast capabilities, eight computer labs, video conference facilities and 30,000-square-foot library. A $40.5 million addition, which opened in fall 2008, provides a home for each of the career specializations that make up the full-time Wisconsin MBA.
Fluno Center for Executive Education--The eight-story structure features state-of-theart meeting and class rooms, auditorium, dining and banquet facilities, 100 residence rooms, fitness center and study pub with panoramic view of downtown Madison.
Wisconsin Leads...
| 1900 | One of the first five university-based commerce/business programs in the country. |
| 1907 | First chapter of honorary business society Beta Gamma Sigma. |
| 1966 | One of three founders of the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, the country's first cooperative equal educational opportunity graduate fellowship program for minorities. |
| 1969 | First Arts Administration program in the country. |
| 1969 | First program in Applied Security Analysis, offering students the opportunity to independently manage a substantial portfolio. |
| 1994 | First business school to use videoconferencing for student interviews with off-site recruiters. |
| 1994 | First program in country offering students in entrepreneurial studies the opportunity to become involved in business start ups as investors. |
| 1999 | First applied real estate investment program in U.S. where graduate students manage a substantial real estate portfolio. |
| 1999 | First program in country that focuses exclusively on practical training in corporate finance. |
| 2000 | First international business course linking students from business schools on four continents through a website, email and video conferencing. |
| 2003 | First university-based center to focus exclusively on training MBAs in product management. |
| 2006 | First class graduates in the new Wisconsin MBA, based on highly focused career specializations. |
| 2007 | First business school to receive a naming gift that preserves the option for future naming. |