For the first time since 2014, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has reclaimed its spot among the top five institutions nationally for research spending, according to the latest figures from the National Science Foundation. This achievement is particularly significant as it marks the highest ranking the state flagship has earned since 2014, after a decade of struggle.
The university's ranking had been a sore spot on campus for a decade after it fell out of the top five for the first time in nearly 45 years. It dropped to No. 8 in 2018, with officials attributing the decline to state budget cuts and the loss of senior faculty members.
"We in Wisconsin can’t claim we’re in the top five on many things, but this is one where we’ve consistently been able to demonstrate to the world that UW-Madison is a premier research institution," Mark Bugher, the retired director of University Research Park and former secretary of administration under Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time of the ranking drop.
However, UW-Madison has restored its spot, ranking No. 5 in research activity during the 2024 fiscal year among more than 900 institutions. Four institutions spent more: Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California-San Francisco, and the University of Michigan.
UW-Madison spent more than $1.9 billion on research, a 12% increase from the previous year. Nearly half of the money came through grants from federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense.
"While no simple ranking captures the breadth and impact of our research, top five does have a nice ring to it," UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin wrote on Instagram.
The rankings are more than bragging rights, and closely watched in academia. The higher a university ranks, the easier it is to attract top professors, build better facilities, and compete for the biggest grants.
UW-Milwaukee, the state's other research university, ranked 221st. It spent about $66 million, up from $61 million the previous year.
Next year's rankings will cover the 2025 fiscal year, a time when many universities saw cuts in federal grant funding. The White House has said it eliminated wasteful spending and cut “woke” programs, such as those focused on diversity and climate change.
This achievement is a significant milestone for UW-Madison, and it will be interesting to see how it impacts the university's future. Will this ranking help attract top talent and secure more funding? Or will it be a short-lived boost? Only time will tell. In the meantime, it's a reminder that hard work and dedication can pay off, and that even the most challenging situations can be overcome.
