Do You Have The Playboy Stamina For the University of Wisconsin-Madison Accounting Degree Programs?

University of Wisconsin-Madison accounting degree programs are highly rated, and come from another of the so-called Public Ivy institutions. But as we dig a bit deeper, we find that the lifestyle may not be for everyone.

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Facts and Figures

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a reputation for three things: political activism, academics, and drinking. 

The first of these is evidenced by the series of violent Vietnam War-related student protests in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The second, by the university’s 13 Nobel and 34 Pulitzer Prize winning alumni. And the third, by being named the number two party school by Playboy magazine in its 2013 list (up from number three in 2010).

The university was founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, and is considered one of the Public Ivy institutions; public universities which provide a quality of education similar to the highly esteemed private Ivy League universities.

It is located in Wisconsin’s capital of Madison, and comprises 41,000 of the city’s population of 240,000. Interestingly, the city has the highest number of PhD’s per capita in the country. 

Right, so it’s home to a lot of happy, clever people then.

Wisconsin School of Business

The University of Wisconsin-Madison business school is called, simply, the Wisconsin School of Business. In fact, a group of alumni known as The Wisconsin Naming Partnership donated $85 million to ensure the school’s name continued as the Wisconsin School of Business for the next 20 years. They obviously like the name.

Impressively, fourteen CEO’s of S&P 500 companies hold undergraduate degrees from the school, putting it in a tie for first place with Harvard.

Wisconsin Accounting Undergraduate Program

The Wisconsin undergraduate program was ranked 13th among business schools by the US News and World Report. 

The course offered is a Bachelor of Business Administration, and it has some pretty impressive attractions. Students can select from one of ten majors including accounting, as well as one of two specializations, and a language certificate in French or Spanish. There are also more than 30 semester, year and summer study abroad programs.

Wisconsin Accounting Master’s Program

Wisconsin offers two Master’s degree programs:

  • Graduate Master of Accountancy (GMacc) – a two year degree for those with a limited background in accounting; and

  • Integrated Master of Accountancy (IMacc) – a one year course available to students who have completed an undergraduate major at Wisconsin.

Both graduate degree programs allow for a major in taxation, which is closely integrated with the Wisconsin law school. Also, completion of either program qualifies graduates to sit for the CPA examination.

Wisconsin Accounting PhD Program

The Wisconsin PhD Program appears highly rated, and consequently is highly competitive to get admitted to, with only four of 70 applicants accepted each year. It is suggested that prospective students have a strong mathematical background, requiring courses in calculus, algebra and microeconomic theory to be completed.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Accounting Degree Programs: Summary

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a great all-round proposition. It’s situated in a reasonably sized, liveable, picturesque city, albeit one that gets pretty cold in the winter.

Being a Public Ivy, you can be assured of getting a top-class education for a fraction of the cost of one the more prestigious private institutions. And its accounting courses – and business programs in general – are very highly ranked in a number of national surveys.

But there’s one particular survey that stands out. Yep, the Playboy survey. The feedback from students that didn’t get into the partying culture is that they felt Wisconsin gave them what they wanted academically, but they never felt quite at home there.

So if you can see yourself as the type that likes to spend a nice quiet weekend tucked away reading a novel in your dorm room, well, it’s not to say that you can’t still get a great education, in particular with the University of Wisconsin-Madison accounting degree programs. It’s just that you might have to search a bit harder for a quiet room.