The Institution of Wisconsin–Madison (also known as the University of Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or just Madison) is a public property research university situated in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, when Wisconsin became a state, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is the state university of Wisconsin and the home of the University of Wisconsin System's flagship campus. As the state's first public institution, it has remained the state's oldest and biggest, and it is the state's oldest and largest public university. As of 1866, it was a federally recognised land-grant university. A total of four National Historic Landmarks are situated on the 933-acre (378-hectare) main campus, which is located on the banks of Lake Mendota. As part of its 1,200-acre (486 hectare) arboretum, which was created in 1932 and is situated 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus, the university owns and administers a National Historic Landmark arboretum.
Wisconsin–Madison is structured into 20 schools and universities, which had 30,361 undergraduate students and 14,052 graduate students in 2018. In 2018, the university had a total enrollment of 30,361 undergraduate students and 14,052 graduate students. A total of 136 undergraduate majors, 148 master's degree programmes, and 120 doctorate degrees are offered via the university. As the state's biggest employer with over 21,600 professors and employees, the institution is a significant contribution to the state's economy.
University of Wisconsin is one of twelve original members of the Association of American Institutions, a select organisation of prominent research universities in North America that was established in 1899. It is categorised as an R1 university, which means that it has a very high level of research activity and is regarded to be a Public Ivy. For the fiscal year 2018, it spent $1.2 billion on research and development, ranking it ninth among colleges in the United States. Since its founding in 1890, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been affiliated with 26 Nobel laureates, two Fields medalists, and one Turing award recipient. The Institution of Wisconsin–Madison has also produced 14 current CEOs of Fortune 500 firms, the most number of any university in the United States as of November 2018 (as of the most recent available data).
Currently, the Wisconsin Badgers play in 25 college sports in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference and have won a total of 31 national titles over their history. 50 Olympic medals have been earned by Wisconsin students and graduates (including 13 gold medals).