🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable on average — net price runs around $15,014/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$10,398 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: ACT below 18 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R1: Doctoral - Very High Research Activity
Total enrollment
16,758
20,000 and above
In-state tuition
$10,398
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$22,398
+$12,000 vs in-state
Admit rate
88.4%
Accepts the majority
ACT middle 50%
18–24
composite
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$54,990
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$45,851
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,990
4-year completion
49%
Median debt (completers)
$23,000
Cost of attendance
$22,756
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
33%

💰 True ROI

9.2× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$60,056
$15,014/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$30,968
vs sticker $91,024
10-yr earnings total
$549,900
$54,990/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
1.1 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the average net price is $15,014/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$10,329/yr
Family income $30-48k
$10,709/yr
Family income $48-75k
$12,344/yr
Family income $75-110k
$19,315/yr
Family income $110k+
$21,477/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee →

Opens on University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
663 degrees · 35.1%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
499 degrees · 26.4%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Visual & Performing Arts
243 degrees · 12.9%
Typical career outcomes
Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
4. Psychology
242 degrees · 12.8%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Engineering
241 degrees · 12.8%
Typical career outcomes
Mechanical Engineer $100k Electrical Engineer $107k Civil Engineer $93k Chemical Engineer $112k
Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 13 $76,982 $95,849
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 109 $73,795 $92,342
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 43 $73,603 $91,955
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 115 $70,474 $86,405
Industrial Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 20 $68,673 $82,763
Materials Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 9 $69,175 $82,131
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 244 $70,900 $81,067
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 75 $54,119 $78,127
Civil Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 63 $64,317 $77,958
Management Information Systems and Services. Bachelor's Degree 52 $54,722 $76,422

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

CS degrees (annual)
156
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

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