UW-Madison graduates become extraordinary citizens, community members and national and global leaders. We have produced more Peace Corps and Teach for America volunteers than almost any other university in the country over the past 20 years.  More leaders of major corporations have graduated from UW-Madison than any other university in the country.  We are among the top producers of faculty members who teach at research- intensive institutions around the world.  Many local, state, and national leaders are our graduates. Something about the UW-Madison experience prepares our students to become outstanding leaders who are engaged locally, nationally and globally.

That “something” is the Wisconsin Experience.  Grounded in the 100-year old Wisconsin Idea and our progressive history, our historical mission has evolved to create an expectation for all of us—faculty, staff, and students—to apply in and out of classroom learning in ways that have significant and positive impacts on the world.  What we do matters, and together we can solve any problem.  It is this unique Wisconsin Experience that produces graduates who think beyond the conventional wisdom, who are creative problem-solvers who know how to integrate passion with empirical analysis, who know how to seek out, evaluate, and create new knowledge and technologies, who can adapt to new situations, and who are engaged citizens of the world.

The Wisconsin Experience comprises the following inquiry-based opportunities:

• Substantial research experiences that generate knowledge and analytical skills
• Global and cultural competences and engagement
• Leadership and activism opportunities
• Application of knowledge in the “real world”

 At UW-Madison, these opportunities are presented in ways that are unique in higher education. The resulting Wisconsin Experience is characterized by close integration of in-class and out-of-class learning experiences, and by active and creative engagement in real world problem-solving. Here are few examples of these opportunities:

• Service Learning and Community-Based Research
• Research apprenticeships on competitively-funded projects
• Summer internships in for-profit and non-profit organizations
• Classroom instruction peer mentoring
• The Undergraduate Research Scholars Program
• First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs)
• Entrepreneurship opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students
• Intercultural dialogues through small group learning communities
• Training for heath professions in rural, central city, and other underserved areas
• Leadership certificates in schools, colleges and majors
• Activism through student organizations
• Comprehensive Honors and Honors theses in the major
• Year-long and semester-long Study and Research Abroad
• National and International internships
• Residential Learning Communities
• Research communities for graduate students
• Graduate and Professional Student Development (Delta, Multicultural Grad. Network, Grad. Student Collaborative, etc.)

We urge you to explore these opportunities, and more, on UW-Madison’s website:  http://www.wisc.edu/