University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2016 University Academic Rankings
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (also known as UW-Milwaukee, UWM or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wisconsin System. It is also one of the two doctoral degree-granting public universities and the second largest university in Wisconsin.

As of the 2015-2016 school year, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had an enrollment of 27,156, with 1,604 faculty members. It is located in Milwaukee's upper East Side close to Lake Michigan, and is home to the only graduate school of freshwater science in the U.S., and Wisconsin's only school of architecture. The University consists of 14 schools and colleges, offering 191 degree programs, including 94 bachelor's, 64 master's and 33 doctorate degrees.

The university is categorized as an R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In 2015, the university had research expenditure of $62 million.

The university's athletic teams are called the Panthers. A total of 15 Panther athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I. Panthers have won the James J. McCafferty Trophy as the Horizon League's all-sports champions seven times since 2000. They have earned 133 Horizon League titles and made 40 NCAA tournament appearances as of 2016.

History | Early history

In 1885, the Wisconsin State Normal School opened for classes at 18th and Wells in downtown Milwaukee. Over the next 42 years, the Milwaukee state normal school saw seven different presidents, the addition of music and liberal arts programs and rapid growth from an initial enrollment of 76. In 1919, the School moved from downtown to the current location near the lakefront when a new building, now Mitchell Hall, was completed. In 1927, the Milwaukee normal school changed its name to Wisconsin State Teachers College-Milwaukee in an effort by the State Normal School Regents to refocus on the instruction of teachers. The college became one of the nation's top teacher's training colleges in the 1940s. In 1951, the Legislature empowered all state colleges to offer liberal arts programs. The Milwaukee State Teachers College subsequently became Wisconsin State College-Milwaukee, but was still casually referred to as "Milwaukee State," as it had been throughout its previous incarnations; also retaining the green and white school colors and Green Gulls mascot.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was founded with the belief that Milwaukee needed a great public university to become a great city. In 1955, the Wisconsin state legislature passed a bill to create a large public university that offered graduate programs in Wisconsin's largest city. In 1956, Wisconsin State College-Milwaukee merged with the University of Wisconsin-Extension's Milwaukee division (a graduate branch of the University of Wisconsin-Madison) to form the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The new university consisted of the WSC campus near the lakefront and the University of Wisconsin extension building in downtown Milwaukee. The first commencement of the new University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was held on June 16, 1957. On June 13, 1958, Socialist mayor Frank P. Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the university.

In 1964, the campus of the neighboring private women's institution, Milwaukee-Downer College, was purchased by the state to expand the UWM campus; Milwaukee-Downer College had previously merged with Lawrence College to form the present Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. The university had already purchased the former campuses and buildings of the former Milwaukee-Downer Se ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

University of Wisconsin Details

University of Wisconsin Details
detail value
stateWisconsin
conferenceHorizon League
publicPublic
scores1467/978/22
levelBelowAverage
rank[420
overall ROI rank[367
sizemedium-large
undergrads22674
grads4922
price32020
drop55
stem25
research66
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee?

1. number 420 for Academics.

2. number 367 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee?

1. Ohio University

2. University of Nevada-Las Vegas

3. Central Michigan University

4. Georgia State University

5. Florida Atlantic University

6. San Francisco State University

7. Western Michigan University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

University of Wisconsin National Academic Rankings

University of Wisconsin National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Horizon League377323385
Mid West Region749999393630267680
State of Wisconsin14242732321110
Top Ten Horizon League377323385
Top Ten State of Wisconsin61010323266


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

University of Wisconsin Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Wisconsin
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
93.08
Ohio UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage215174
93.02
University of Nevada-Las VegasNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicBelowAverage421449
92.74
Central Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage454402
92.63
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
92.60
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
92.49
San Francisco State UniversityCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicBelowAverage428458
92.22
Western Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage446320
91.99
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
91.69
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
91.40
University of ToledoOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage405285
86.63
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
86.54
East Carolina UniversityNorth CarolinaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage312325
86.53
University of North Carolina at CharlotteNorth CarolinaDivision I-AA Independents / C...PublicAverage292207
86.41
University of New MexicoNew MexicoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage265153
86.33
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
86.32
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
86.16
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
85.98
Kansas State UniversityKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage249168
85.91
Old Dominion UniversityVirginiaConference USAPublicAverage356368
85.83
The University of Texas at El PasoTexasConference USAPublicBelowAverage499294
85.80
University of Akron Main CampusOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage331251
85.67
San Jose State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage386389
85.65
California State University-SacramentoCaliforniaBig Sky ConferencePublicBelowAverage453472
85.39
Eastern Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicAverage445385
85.28
Texas Tech UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage176104
85.13
Western Kentucky UniversityKentuckyConference USAPublicBelowAverage491433
84.98
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
84.78
California State University-Long BeachCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage318387
84.69
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
84.64
CUNY Queens CollegeNew YorkEast Coast ConferencePublicAverage307400
84.54
Northern Illinois UniversityIllinoisMid American ConferencePublicAverage435289
84.24
California State University-NorthridgeCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicBelowAverage459474
83.48
Cleveland State UniversityOhioHorizon LeaguePublicAverage440299
79.96
Indiana University-Purdue University-IndianapolisIndianaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage427342
79.74
Kennesaw State UniversityGeorgiaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAverage290291
79.29
Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeConference USAPublicAverage384372
79.02
Boise State UniversityIdahoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage389329
78.86
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
78.67
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage279222
78.63
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
78.28
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
78.12
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
78.06
California State University-ChicoCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicAverage392409
77.92
University of ArizonaArizonaPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage12486
77.91
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage350248
77.49
University of Hawaii at ManoaHawaiiMountain West Conference / Big...PublicAverage204245
77.13
SUNY at AlbanyNew YorkColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage188218
77.02
Florida International UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage163170
76.86
University of Southern MississippiMississippiConference USAPublicAverage493423
76.85
Wichita State UniversityKansasMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage382307


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

University of Wisconsin Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Wisconsin
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.44
University of Nevada-Las VegasNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicBelowAverage421449
92.65
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
89.18
City University of New York Ath Conf (Average)-City University of New York At...-Conf-Average-463
87.98
MCPHS UniversityMassachusettsNo Conference AffiliationPrivateAverage422482
86.09
Madonna UniversityMichiganWolverine - Hoosier Athletic ConfPrivateAboveAverage418377
86.09
Saint Edward's UniversityTexasHeartland ConferencePrivateAboveAverage418480
85.43
Maryville University of Saint LouisMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePrivateAverage424426
84.62
University of Mary WashingtonVirginiaCapital Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage424386
84.04
Bethel UniversityMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage423428
82.63
Millsaps CollegeMississippiSouthern Athletic AssociationPrivateAboveAverage416473
81.27
Washington CollegeMarylandCentennial ConferencePrivateAboveAverage424482