UW-Madison College of Engineering

What UW-Madison College of Engineering does

UW-Madison College of Engineering is the engineering college of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a public land-grant university operating under the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. The college offers 60+ undergraduate and graduate degree and program options spanning aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, geological, industrial, materials science, mechanical, and nuclear engineering, supported by 65+ educational labs and 1,400+ graduates in its most recent record cohort. Its primary customers are undergraduate and graduate engineering students, with secondary stakeholders including industry employers (Epic, GE, KLA, MGE, Milwaukee Tool, Schneider, Constellation, Siemens Energy), federal research agencies (DOE, NSF, ARPA-E), and alumni/donor networks. Revenue is sourced from state appropriations, tuition and fees, federal and state research grants, and private philanthropy, with no consolidated revenue figure publicly disclosed.

The college's research portfolio includes university-grade, defensible technology platforms: a patented STRAP solvent-based plastics recycling process (targeting a $25B/year North America/Europe/Japan market), an Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductor MOCVD Laboratory anchored by an Agnitron Agilis 100 system, multi-port iso-MMC converter architecture for high-voltage DC grids under a $2.9M ARPA-E award, near-field thermophotovoltaic devices delivering 25x conventional energy output, lithium-metal battery interface stabilization modeling, and mechatronic co-design for semiconductor lithography. Capital infrastructure is being expanded through a 395,000 sq ft Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center ($226.4M state + $150M private fundraising) with groundbreaking in April 2025.

The college operates a hybrid GTM model: traditional sales-led admissions for student enrollment, event-driven employer engagement through career fairs and the Handshake platform, and community-led outreach via 60+ engineering student organizations and the Wisconsin Engineering Student Council. The college has produced four fusion spin-out companies (SHINE Technologies, Realta Fusion, Type One Energy, Xantho Technologies) and co-founded the Great Lakes Fusion Energy Alliance, signaling a deliberate commercialization orientation within a public-mission framework. Recent strategic moves include opening Wisconsin's first aerospace engineering BS program (Fall 2026), launching a new AI engineering certificate (Fall 2026), and securing Western Digital as a hub partner.

Name

UW-Madison College of Engineering

Legal name

College of Engineering | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Website

https://engineering.wisc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1848

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

UW-Madison College of Engineering is a public university college offering 60+ engineering degree programs to undergraduate and graduate students, funded through state appropriations, tuition, federal research grants, and philanthropy, with research in semiconductors, fusion, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Engineering

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive) (EDAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cooperative Education (Co-op) Technical Universities (EDAHAEAF), Technical Universities with Energy, Materials & Sustainability Focus (EDAHAEAL)

Keywords

• Engineering education
• Research university
• Graduate degrees
• Undergraduate engineering
• Professional development certificates

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition for engineering degree programs across 60+ degree and program options.
2. Research Grants and Contracts: Federal funding from agencies including U.S. Department of Energy, ARPA-E, NSF CAREER awards, and DOE-sponsored Energy Frontier Research Centers. Example: $2.9M ARPA-E DC-GRIDS project for high-voltage DC transmission research.
3. Private Philanthropy and Capital Campaigns: Major gifts supporting the new Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center including $75M gift from brothers, $25M gift from Morgridges, and ongoing fundraising targeting $150M from private donors against state contribution of $226.4M.
4. Technology Transfer and Licensing: Four fusion companies have spun out of UW-Madison research labs: SHINE Technologies, Realta Fusion, Type One Energy, and Xantho Technologies, representing commercialization of university research.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

UW-Madison College of Engineering is a public higher education unit within the University of Wisconsin-Madison that delivers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs across 12+ engineering disciplines. It also produces sponsored research in semiconductors, fusion energy, sustainable manufacturing, and biomedical technologies, and runs professional development certificates and capstone certificates through its Professional Development arm.

Product overview

UW-Madison College of Engineering is an educational institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of degree programs across multiple engineering disciplines. The portfolio includes undergraduate degrees (BS) in aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, engineering mechanics, engineering physics, environmental, geological, industrial, materials science, mechanical, and nuclear engineering. Graduate offerings include MS (research and professional/professional degrees like ME), and PhD programs across these disciplines. The college also offers professional master's degrees through the Professional Development College (PDC) including Engineering Data Analytics, Engineering Management, Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Sustainable Systems Engineering, and Design + Innovation. Certificate programs (capstone certificates) provide specialized credentials in areas like AI for Engineering Data Analytics, Applied Engineering Management, Polymer Processing & Manufacturing, Power Conversion and Control, and others. Student support services include career services, wellness programs, and undergraduate research opportunities. The college is constructing a new 395,000-square-foot Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center to expand educational capacity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aerospace Engineering, BS Undergraduate degree program in aerospace engineering, the first such program in the state of Wisconsin, launching Fall 2026. Designed for students seeking careers in aerospace and astronautics industries.
• Biomedical Engineering Degree Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates achieve $82,400+ average starting salary
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Great Lakes Fusion Energy AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026Public-private partnership launched at inaugural 2025 summit, co-hosted by UW-Madison College of Engineering and Letters & Science, Wisconsin-based 5 Lakes Institute. Includes four fusion companies spun out from UW-Madison research.
• Siemens EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Industry partner in ARPA-E DC-GRIDS project for high-voltage DC transmission research. Part of $2.9M project developing multi-port iso-MMC converter station architecture for electric grid superhighway applications.
• Electric Power Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026EPRI partnered with UW-Madison and other organizations in the $2.9M ARPA-E DC-GRIDS project to develop next-generation high-voltage DC transmission technology.
• Grid UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Industry partner in ARPA-E DC-GRIDS project working on high-voltage DC transmission infrastructure development.
• Arizona State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Academic collaborator in the ARPA-E DC-GRIDS project for high-voltage DC transmission research involving UW-Madison researchers from electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering.
• Western DigitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2025Western Digital partnered with UW-Madison College of Engineering through the new 'hub' partnership model. The collaboration represents a significant industry partnership at the Engineering College, with Western Digital representatives attending agreement signing ceremonies for the new Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center.
• Brookhaven National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator through DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center 'Molten Salt in Extreme Environments'. UW-Madison students and researchers performed cutting-edge experiments at National Synchrotron Light Source II for molten salt corrosion research.
• SHINE TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four fusion companies spun out from UW-Madison research labs. Based in Janesville, Wisconsin. Ross Radel (BSNE '03, MSNEEP '04, PhDNEEP '07) serves as CTO. Collaborating on fusion supply chain development.
• Realta FusioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFusion company that spun out from UW-Madison research labs as one of four fusion companies representing the region's emerging fusion ecosystem.
• Type One EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFusion company that spun out from UW-Madison research labs, part of the Great Lakes Fusion Energy Alliance working to build regional fusion supply chain.
• Xantho TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFusion company that spun out from UW-Madison research labs, representing technology commercialization from university's fusion and plasma physics research.
• ConstellationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy company where nuclear engineering senior Shea McCarthy completed internship in nuclear fuels department working on core design for boiling water reactors. Student subsequently accepted full-time position.
• Department of Energy Center on the Chemical Upcycling of Waste PlasticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartment of Energy-sponsored research center led by George Huber that coordinates solvent-based recycling research including UW-Madison's STRAP process and collaborators at other universities.
• Michigan Technological UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution where UW-Madison's solvent-based recycling STRAP process pilot-scale plant is being developed, capable of recycling 55 pounds of plastic per hour.
• Ghent UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaborator on solvent-based recycling paper published in Nature: Chemical Engineering, with Steven De Meester as co-author.
• NatCast (National Semiconductor Technology Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit that operates the National Semiconductor Technology Center. Vivek Prasad, VP for design engineering ecosystem enablement, attended MOCVD Lab grand opening representing the emerging national semiconductor research ecosystem.
• National Renewable Energy LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNREL collaborated with UW-Madison on near-field thermophotovoltaic device research using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Researchers include Jennifer Selvidge, Ryan M. France, John Goldsmith, and Myles A. Steiner.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• MIT School of Engineering: The benchmark U.S. engineering school with much larger resources, endowments, and global prestige. Functions as the upper-bound peer—especially relevant for evaluating competitive positioning for faculty and top students.
• Stanford University School of Engineering: Elite engineering school with strong ties to Silicon Valley venture capital and tech industry. Functions as a benchmark for technology transfer rates, spin-out companies, and AI/semiconductor research positioning.

Direct peers

• University of Michigan College of Engineering: Top-ranked public engineering college with strong research output, large federal funding base, and corporate recruiting partnerships. Directly comparable on size, departmental structure, and research intensity.
• University of Washington College of Engineering: Public AAU research university engineering college with strong federal research funding, top-10 nationally ranked programs, and significant industry partnerships in aerospace and energy—comparable in research depth and student outcomes.
• Penn State College of Engineering: Large public engineering college with extensive research portfolio, broad disciplinary coverage, and deep industry recruiting network. Comparable on scale, faculty awards, and student placement rates.
• University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering: Big Ten peer public research university engineering college with comparable program breadth, employer partnerships in the Midwest, and research focus areas in energy, manufacturing, and materials.
• Georgia Tech College of Engineering: Premier public engineering college with top-5 nationally ranked programs, large research portfolio, and deep industry partnerships. Very similar in scale, employer engagement model, and research breadth.
• UIUC Grainger College of Engineering: Top-ranked public engineering college in the Big Ten with similar federal research funding profile, broad engineering disciplines, and historical strength in plasma/fusion research—directly comparable to UW-Madison's fusion ecosystem.
• Purdue University College of Engineering: One of the largest top-ranked public engineering colleges in the U.S., offering 60+ degree programs across all major engineering disciplines and producing top-tier technical talent. Comparable in scale, breadth, employer partnerships, and public research university positioning.
• Texas A&M College of Engineering: One of the largest U.S. engineering colleges by enrollment, with top-10 nationally ranked programs in industrial engineering and strong energy research. Comparable in size, scope, and research funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UWMadEngr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/uwmadengr
• Facebookfacebook.com/UWMadEngr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uwmadengr
• Instagraminstagram.com/uwmadengr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UW-Madison College of Engineering