How to Apply to Mathematics at UW–Madison: Applying to the University and Declaring the Major Once You Meet the Calculus Grade Requirement, a Standard Major Plus Six Named Options, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison), undergraduate mathematics is offered by the Department of Mathematics in the College of Letters & Science. Here is what you need to know to apply, based on the Guide (course catalog), the department’s website, the Office of Admissions and Recruitment and the Office of Student Financial Aid, organised for US domestic applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, followed by transfer students. Computer science has its own dedicated article on this site and is mentioned here only where it relates to a mathematics option.

1. Majors and options

• Standard major: the Guide says the standard major requires at least seven MATH courses for at least 21 credits and exposure to at least two areas of advanced mathematics; the department says it suits students with a broad interest in mathematics, those interested in Honors in the Major or graduate study, and those who want to finish quickly. The structure is: one linear algebra course; one transition course or sequence (MATH 341 or 375 linear algebra, MATH 421 The Theory of Single Variable Calculus, MATH 467 Introduction to Number Theory, or MATH 321 and 322 Applied Mathematical Analysis); two of MATH 521 Analysis I, MATH 541 Modern Algebra 1 and MATH 551 Point-Set Topology; and further MATH electives, at least one of them advanced.
• Six named options: Mathematics for Data Science; for Economics and Finance; for the Physical and Biological Sciences; for Programming and Computing; for Secondary Education; and for Statistical Analysis and Risk Assessment. In general every option requires a linear algebra course, a transition course, at least two advanced MATH courses (500 and above), at least 18 MATH credits in six or more courses above the 300 level, and at least 30 credits in at least ten courses in total. Details are in the Guide, and the department advises meeting a mathematics advisor to build an initial plan before declaring.
• Degrees: the Guide says the major can be paired with either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science requirements; College of Letters & Science students need 120 credits in total, with 30 in residence. Students outside Letters & Science who have their school’s permission to add the major only need to complete the major requirements, not the L&S degree requirements.
• Other programs: a mathematics certificate (a flexible alternative to a full major; it cannot be declared at the same time as the major), and the Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics (AMEP), an alternative to the regular major for students who want to bridge mathematics with laboratory-based physical sciences.
• Honors: see sections 3 and 8.

2. Admission: you apply to the university, and declare mathematics with no separate application

• When you apply: admissions says you name a first and a second choice major; if the first choice cannot be offered, the second is considered. Admission expectations may differ for the direct entry programs in business, engineering, dance and music. Mathematics is not a direct entry program, and the pages read show no separate admission line for it.
• Declaring the major: the Guide says “No application required. All students who meet the requirements listed below are eligible to declare.” The requirements are the calculus preparation (MATH 221, 222 and 234, or MATH 375) and either a GPA of at least 2.500 across MATH 221, 222 and 234, or a grade of BC or better in MATH 375, 320, 340, 341 or 345. Only courses completed in residence at UW–Madison count toward the GPA. Students who do not meet the requirement are advised to meet an advisor to discuss alternative qualifications and a timeline; the department gives the example of a transfer student with no GPA being admitted after a successful first term at UW–Madison.
• Any school: the department says students may declare the math major within any school or college, and urges meeting a math advisor early, before taking courses toward the major.
• Enrollment limits: the pages read do not mention a cap on places; ask the math advisors whether there is one.

3. Prerequisites and placement

• High school courses: admissions lists minimums of 4 years of English, 3 of math (at least one year each of algebra, geometry and advanced math with algebra or geometry prerequisites), 3 of social science, 3 of natural science and 4 of electives, 17 credits in all; statistics, business math and computer classes do not count toward the math requirement. Competitive applicants often take additional credits in the core subject areas, including the most challenging advanced-level work offered, and two years of the same world language are highly recommended.
• Math placement test: the department says all incoming first-year students must take the UW math placement test (Math B, the proctored version, in person or by live remote proctoring; the unproctored Math A is not accepted). Students must adhere to their placement for enrollment in math courses, except in cases of course credit, and the department does not judge calculus readiness from high school coursework alone, including an A in AP Calculus without an exam score. A retake is possible.
• Starting courses: a result may be MATH 96, a developmental course to take in the first semester; precalculus is MATH 112 and 113, or MATH 114; and calculus normally starts with MATH 221, the most commonly taken calculus course, which leads to MATH 222 and the rest of the curriculum. MATH 211 is taken mainly by business majors, leads only to MATH 213 and cannot be followed by MATH 222, so students who may want further mathematics should take MATH 221.
• AP, IB, A-Level and credit exams: the department points to the Registrar’s page for what AP, IB, A-Level, CLEP and similar exams earn; that page was not read for this guide, so check the Registrar for specifics. The department also offers credit exams in the first week of each semester to establish credit for MATH 221, 222, 234 and 340 (not needed by students who already have credit by AP or transfer); the Spring 2027 exams are on 19 January at 4 PM.
• Honors Calculus: MATH 375/376 is a year-long, proof-based sequence that replaces multivariable calculus (MATH 234), differential equations (MATH 319) and linear algebra (MATH 341), open to students outside the Honors Program. You need MATH 222 credit and one of: a 4 or 5 on AP Calculus BC; an A or AB in UW–Madison’s MATH 222; a B+ or higher in a MATH 222-equivalent transfer course; a 6 or 7 on IB Math with Further Math; or 88% or higher on the MATH 222 credit exam. The recommended minimum background is a 5 on BC or a 7 on IB, and/or a high A in Calculus 2; the department warns that even strong students sometimes drop the sequence.
• Math competitions: the admissions pages read do not say how competitions are viewed.

4. Deadlines and materials (first-year)

• Fall Early Action (EA): application due 1 November, materials 9 November, decisions on or before 31 January; non-binding, reply by 1 May. EA outcomes are admit, defer (mid-year grades are reviewed and a decision is made by the end of March) or deny.
• Fall Regular Decision (RD): application due 15 January, materials 22 January, decisions on or before 31 March; a wait list is possible.
• Spring Regular Decision: application due 1 October, materials 15 October, decisions on or before 31 December.
• Year: the admissions pages show no year, so check that these dates apply to fall 2027 entry. Applications and materials must arrive by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the dates, and fall applications are processed from 1 September.
• How to apply: the Common Application or the Universities of Wisconsin Application (choose one). The application fee is $80, nonrefundable, with waivers for financial hardship.
• Essays: two essays. Common App applicants choose one of the Common App prompts; Universities of Wisconsin Application applicants answer “Each student is unique. Please tell us about the particular life experiences, talents, commitments, and/or interests you will bring to our campus.” Everyone also answers why they want to attend UW–Madison and why they are interested in the major(s) they selected (or, if undecided, their possible areas of academic interest).
• Grades and recommendation: course and grade information for grades 9-12 (self-reported, or an official transcript from your school; official transcripts are required before enrollment); one required letter of recommendation from someone who can attest to your academic ability, such as a teacher, counselor or faculty member, with a second optional. Admissions encourages students interested in engineering to ask a math or science teacher; it does not say the letter must come from a math teacher for mathematics.
• Testing: the ACT and SAT are optional for applications through the spring 2028 term (application deadline 1 October 2027), and you are not disadvantaged if you do not include them. Admissions says it typically sees unweighted academic GPAs between 3.8 and 4.0 and class rank in the 85th-97th percentile, uses no formulas or charts, and cannot tell a student whether they will be admitted before the decision.

5. US domestic applicants

• Tuition: the cost page has separate columns by residency. For 2026-27 (USD, undergraduate estimates): tuition and fees $12,532 for Wisconsin residents, $45,518 for nonresidents and $18,328 for Minnesota residents; required course materials and educational supplies $700; housing and meals $14,994; personal $2,618; transportation $612 (nonresident $1,222, Minnesota resident $866); loan fees $68; totals $31,524 (Wisconsin resident), $65,120 (nonresident) and $37,574 (Minnesota resident). An estimated New Student Fee of $330 applies to incoming first-year students and $256 to new transfer students, and incoming undergraduates have $1,100 added to their supplies budget for a computer. Engineering, nursing and business carry tuition differentials; mathematics is not among them. Residency for tuition is determined by the Registrar; costs for 2027-28 are not published on the page read.
• Aid and scholarships: the university bases financial aid on the estimated cost of attendance; the admissions pages read do not state how much of need is met. Department scholarships are in section 8; university scholarships are listed in the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH), and some are awarded automatically.
• Wisconsin residents: admissions says a select group of Wisconsin residents offered a wait list spot are offered a place in the Connections Program, starting at a partner college or university before finishing at UW–Madison while holding UW–Madison student status. Other residency preference or guaranteed admission is not stated on the pages read.

6. International applicants

• How to apply: admissions says international students apply as first-year or transfer students, with no separate process, the same deadlines and materials, plus country-specific transcript requirements. If your school does not issue English transcripts, an official translation of the entire transcript is needed from the school or an EducationUSA official, and both the original and the translation must be submitted; email is not official.
• English: first-year applicants educated in non-English-speaking countries must submit an official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test (DET) score, unless English was the primary language of instruction for all four years of secondary school. Minimum accepted scores: DET 115 (with subscores); IELTS Academic 6.5 (in-person or online); TOEFL iBT 80 for tests on or before 20 January 2026 and 4.5 for tests on or after 21 January 2026 (TOEFL code 1846). There is no superscoring, so MyBest scores are not accepted and the full score report is required; reports cannot be more than two years old. The TOEFL iTP Plus is not accepted but the iBT Special Home Edition is. Waivers are requested through the ELP Waiver Request in the Student Center.
• Proof of funds: enrolling students who need an F-1 or J-1 visa submit proof of funding for one full year of study after admission; financial documents are not sent with the undergraduate application. I-20 requests go through the Terra Dotta portal after accepting the offer.
• Aid and scholarships: the university says international students on F-1 or J-1 visas do not qualify for US federal or Wisconsin state financial aid, and most are self-funded, assisted by family or community, or seek external scholarships. Scholarships are in WiSH; those for incoming students generally have deadlines of 1 February or earlier. The King-Morgridge Scholars Program is a four-year full-tuition scholarship that also covers room and board, health insurance, airfare and a stipend; six students are admitted per year, candidates must apply in the fall Early Action round and be admitted then, submit the separate WiSH application by 15 November, show high financial need and a commitment to poverty alleviation, and plan to return home; the applicant’s secondary school must be in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, South Asia or Southeast Asia.
• Agents: UW–Madison states that it does not partner with agents or educational consultants and does not recognize them as representatives.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages read do not mention the Gaokao or say how it is used; this is not published there, so contact admissions (onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu).
• Transcripts: the international page has a China entry. For students in the Chinese national curriculum who are still in upper secondary school: transcripts from lower middle school (初中, grade 9) and upper middle school (高中, grades 10-11), in both Chinese and English; to finalize admission, an official transcript with final 12th-grade grades, and, if the transcript does not show a graduation date, an official copy of the Chinese Graduation Certificate with English translation. For those who have completed upper secondary school: official transcripts for grade 9 and grades 10-12 in both languages. Students in A-Level, IB or dual-diploma programs follow the corresponding entries.
• English scores: see section 6; the page specifically notes that the TOEFL iTP Plus is not accepted for China but the iBT Special Home Edition is.
• Visa and funds: see section 6.

8. Costs, scholarships and outcomes

• Costs: see section 5.
• Department scholarships and awards: open to students declared in the major, applied for in the spring through WiSH and applied the following fall: the Augusta Schurrer Undergraduate Student Support Fund (merit; second-year students), David L. Young Mathematics Scholarship (graduating students interested in mathematics education), Felice Michaels Levin Scholarship, Frank D. Cady Scholarship (need-based), I. L. Newman Mathematics Fund (students in a for-credit summer directed study), Linnaeus Wayland Dowling Scholarship (juniors and seniors), Mark H. Ingraham Math Scholarship, Mary Ellen Rudin Mathematics Fund, R. Creighton Buck Prize (strongest senior research project), Terry Millar Memorial Fund (need-based) and the Violet Higgitt Frank Scholarship (majors in the College of Letters & Science). Criteria differ; see the department’s page.
• Honors in the Major: only with the standard major, not with a named option, and normally declared with the math honors advisor by the start of the junior year. It requires a 3.300 University GPA and a 3.300 GPA in all MATH and major courses; the Analysis I and II and Modern Algebra 1 and 2 sequences taken for honors (the Guide lists MATH 522 and MATH 542) with grades of B or better, and at least one of MATH 521-522 or 541-542 completed before the capstone; at least two more honors courses from MATH 500-680; and a capstone: a two-semester, 6-credit Senior Honors Thesis (MATH 682) or a sequence of two upper-level math courses approved by an honors advisor.
• Undergraduate research: the department has a “Research for students” section that was not read for this guide.
• Outcomes: the Guide says: “In recent years, students graduating with the Mathematics major have obtained employment in a variety of jobs in business, industry, and governmental agencies and also have obtained teaching positions at the secondary school level (such teaching positions normally require teaching certification). Others have continued their education at the graduate level in mathematics and other fields.” The pages read print no specific employment data.

9. Transfer students

• Who counts: anyone who has attended another college after high school graduation. To be eligible you must have completed, or be completing, at least 24 transferable semester hours of college-level work; AP, A-Level, IB and CLEP do not count toward the 24, and freshman-level transfers are not admitted.
• Deadlines: Fall Priority Decision: application 1 February, materials 16 February, decisions on or before 31 March; Fall Regular Decision: 1 March, 15 March, decisions on or before 30 April; Spring Regular Decision: 1 October, 15 October, decisions on or before 31 December. The fall transfer application opens 1 December. The pages show no year, so check.
• Materials: the Universities of Wisconsin Application, the $80 fee, two essays, official transcripts from every college and from high school, and one letter of recommendation. ACT/SAT scores are not considered for transfer admission. The high school record must show one year of algebra, one year of plane geometry, one year of college-preparatory math (or a college course at the level of Algebra 2 or beyond) and two years of the same world language (or two college semesters). Admissions looks at rigor, breadth and grade trends in college coursework.
• Declaring mathematics: the Guide says that if calculus was not taken in residence, you must complete a linear algebra course (MATH 320, 340, 341 or 345) and earn a BC or better in a MATH course taken in residence; students with non-residence credit for the required courses should consult the department about an appropriate MATH course to complete in residence first.
• Credit: UW–Madison cannot pre-evaluate courses for prospective students; admitted students receive a detailed transfer credit evaluation, and Transferology shows established equivalencies. The department says all math courses are reviewed by the Department of Mathematics at some stage, but it cannot review individual courses outside established campus processes. International coursework is evaluated by international admissions counselors after admission and enrollment confirmation, with detailed course descriptions in the original language and English.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• Apply by 1 November (EA) or 15 January (RD), listing mathematics or related majors as first and second choices; one letter of recommendation, two essays; testing optional
• After enrolling, take the UW math placement test; declare the major after MATH 221, 222 and 234 with a 2.500 average

International applicants (including China):

• Prepare TOEFL (4.5 new scale or 80 old), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115 or higher; transcripts in Chinese and English; ask admissions how the Gaokao is used
• After admission, submit proof of funding for one full year; apply for scholarships in WiSH, most with deadlines of 1 February or earlier

Transfer students:

• At least 24 transferable semester hours (AP/IB/A-Level do not count); fall priority 1 February or regular 1 March; credit evaluation comes only after admission; to declare math, complete a MATH course in residence with BC or better

Sources: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Guide: Mathematics, BS; Mathematics: undergraduate education; Major and certificate programs; Getting started with the major; Major program options; Honors in the major; Honors calculus; New student placement and enrollment; Credit by examination; Transfer credit evaluation; Scholarships, awards and prizes; Admissions: first-year; Deadlines; What we look for; International applicants; International scholarships; Transfer applicants; Transferring your credit; 2026-27 cost of attendance. The admissions pages show no year, so check that the deadlines apply to fall 2027 entry; costs are 2026-27 estimates. See UW–Madison’s website for the latest.