Union South, the newer campus union, was built in 1971 to better accommodate a growing student enrollment and was de

joy gazing at the lake and its sailboats. The union is known for the Rathskeller, a German pub adjacent to the lake terrace. Political debates and backgammon and sheepshead games over a beer on the terrace are common among students. The Rathskeller serves "Rathskeller Ale", a beer brewed expressly for the Terrace. Memorial Union was the first union at a public university to serve beer.[86]


Hoofer Badger Sloops on Lake Mendota behind Memorial Union
Memorial Union is home to many arts venues, including several art galleries, a movie theater, the Wisconsin Union Theater, and the Craftshop, which provides courses and facilities for arts and crafts activities. Students and Madison community members alike congregate at the Memorial Union for the films and concerts each week. An advisory referendum to renovate and expand Memorial Union was approved by the student body in 2006, and the university is currently undergoing the expansion.[87]
Union South, the newer campus union, was built in 1971 to better accommodate a growing student enrollment and was demolished in 2008. A new "green" Union South located on the site of the old union opened April 15, 2011. It is a certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold building.[88] The building contains several dining options, an art gallery, climbing wall, bowling alley event spaces, and a hotel.[89][90]
The Wisconsin Union also provides a home for the Wisconsin Union Directorate Student Programming Board (WUD), which provides regular programs for both students and community members. One of the most well-known members of WUD is the Wisconsin Hoofers, a club that organizes outdoor recreational activities.[91]
Dejope Hall[edit]


Dejope Residence Hall
On May 22, 2012, the Ho-chunk Nation passed a resolution permitting the usage of the name "Dejope" for a new residence hall at the university. Dejope means "Four Lakes" in the Ho-Chunk language, and Native Americans have used this word to describe the Madison area for thousands of years.[92] The residence hall was planned as a symbol of the ongoing cooperative relationship between University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Ho-Chunk nation and the building and its grounds contain imagery of the mounds and lakes in the area. A fire circle in front of the building contains plaques representing all 11 Native American nations in Wisconsin. Images of the four effigy mounds that are located on the campus (Observatory Hill, Willow Drive, Picnic Point and Eagle Heights) are embedded into the flooring of the building's main floor. An acrylic depiction of Lake Mendota is located in the conference room, and another artwork of glass and metal depicting the Four Lakes is located in the East Hall.
Libraries[edit]

4,290 ha) in area. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, a demonstration area for native ecosystems, is located on the west side of Madison. The main campus includes many buildings designed or supervised by architects J.T.W. Jennings and Arthur Peabody. The hub of campus life is the

 "The college has evolved and grown over the decades to reflect changes in the fabric of society and in the areas of knowledge that it studies. Practical studies related to crop and livestock production and farm life gradually delved deeper as scientists strove to understand the underlying biological processes. Today the college generates new knowledge about agriculture, natural resources management and protection, human health and nutrition, community development and related topics. Faculty and staff in 19 academic departments and a number of interdisciplinary programs carry out these lines of study.[75] "
Letters & Science Honors Program[edit]
The L&S Honors Program serves over 1300 students in the College of Letters and Science (the UW–Madison's liberal arts college) with an enriched undergraduate curriculum. In addition to its curriculum, the program offers professional advising services; research opportunities and funding; and numerous academic, social and service opportunities through the Honors Student Organization. The Honors Program also supports several student organizations, such as the University of Wisconsin–Madison Forensics Team.
Campus[edit]



North Hall, the first building on campus
Located in Madison, about a mile from the state capitol, the university is situated partially on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The main campus comprises 933 acres (378 ha) of land, while the entire campus, including research stations located throughout the state, is over 10,600 acres (4,290 ha) in area. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, a demonstration area for native ecosystems, is located on the west side of Madison. The main campus includes many buildings designed or supervised by architects J.T.W. Jennings and Arthur Peabody. The hub of campus life is the Memorial Union.
The UW–Madison has its own police force, food service, hospital, recreation facilities, botanical gardens, public artworks, power facilities, and an on-campus dairy plant.
Bascom Hall[edit]


Bascom Hall atop Bascom Hill at the heart of the campus
As one of the icons on campus, Bascom Hall,[77] at the top of Bascom Hill, is often considered the "heart of the campus." Built in 1857, a decorative dome that once sat atop the structure was destroyed by fire. The structure has been added to several times over the years. The building currently houses the office of the chancellor and vice chancellors. Bascom Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building within the Bascom Hill Historic District.[78]
Music Hall[edit]


Music Hall
This Victorian Gothic building, built in 1878 and initially named Assembly Hall, was designed to house an 800-seat auditorium, a library, and a clock tower. Dedicated on March 2, 1880, the building originally held conventions, dances, and commencement ceremonies, along with its primary purpose of a library. After the library moved to a different building on campus, a portion of the hall was assigned to the School of Music in 1900. Shortly after renovations in the early 1900s, the building was officially named Music Hall in 1910. It remains an important music venue and is home to the university opera.[79] This building also is home to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, with part of the building being used as office space and classrooms.
George L. Mosse Humanities Building[edit]

ber of top ten programs.[48] The UW placed 30th among national universities in Washington Monthly's 2009 rankings, which consider community service and social mobility, as well as research productivity.[49] In 2009, UW–Madison was ranked 6th in the TrendTopper MediaBuzz ra

iters.[44] Additionally, the professional ranking of world universities from École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, based in part on the number of senior managerial positions occupied by alumni, placed UW–Madison 35th in the world.[45]
National[edit]
UW–Madison was ranked 11th among national universities (with three institutions tied) by the Center for Measuring University Performance in its 2007 report, with rankings based on objective statistics on research, faculty awards, student qualifications, and university assets. Of 38 programs at the UW–Madison that were included in the National Research Council's 1995 study, 16 ranked in the top 10 nationally.[46][47] In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that 57 disciplines at the UW–Madison were in the top 10 in the U.S. in scholarly productivity, which placed it second after UC-Berkeley in the number of top ten programs.[48] The UW placed 30th among national universities in Washington Monthly's 2009 rankings, which consider community service and social mobility, as well as research productivity.[49] In 2009, UW–Madison was ranked 6th in the TrendTopper MediaBuzz rankings by the Global Language Monitor.[50] In 2011, the Global Language Monitor increased the ranking to 1st in Internet Media Buzz.[51]
Madison's undergraduate program was ranked 42nd among national universities by U.S.News & World Report for 2012 and 10th among public schools.[52] In both cases, UW-Madison is tied with another UW, University of Washington. The same magazine ranked UW's graduate School of Business 29th,[53] and its undergraduate business program 13th.[54] Twelve CEOs of S&P 500 companies hold degrees from the University of Wisconsin, putting it in a tie with Harvard and Princeton for first place.[55]
In 2011, USNWR ranked UW's Law School 35th,[56] while Vault listed it as 25th for 2008.[57] Other graduate schools ranked by USNWR include the School of Medicine and Public Health, which was 27th in research[58] and 13th in primary care,[59] the College of Engineering 16th,[60] the School of Education 12th,[61] and the La Follette School of Public Affairs 14th.[62]
Madison has been labeled one of the "Public Ivies," a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.[6][7]
Research[edit]
UW–Madison was a founding member of the Association of American Universities.[63] In 2009, the school received $952 million in research funding, placing it third in the country.[64] Its research programs were also fourth in the number of patents issued in 2010.[65] The University's research programs were ranked fourth in federally funded research and second in nonfederally funded research among U.S. public universities in 2009.[66]
The University of Wisconsin is a participant in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the academic consortium of the universities in the Big Ten Conference and the University of Chicago. The initiative is a research partnership that involves faculty and staff networking, cooperative purchasing, course sharing, professional development programs, study abroad, diversity initiatives for students and faculty, and sharing of library resources and information technology.[67][68][69]