UW-Madison uses a First Destination Survey to learn about future plans of our bachelor’s degree recipients. To gather this data, graduating students are prompted to complete the First Destination Survey. Survey data is supplemented from sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse, UW-Madison enrollment records, LinkedIn, and other verified sources.
Of the 9,124 undergraduate degree recipients surveyed from Summer 2024, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025, UW-Madison has reasonable and verifiable information regarding the post-graduation plans of 6,400, for an overall Knowledge Rate of 70%.
Some highlights for 2024-25 graduates who responded to the First Destination Survey
- 69% of respondents plan to work, serve in the military, or participate in a volunteer/service program (such as Teach for America or the Peace Corps) after graduation.
- 30% of respondents plan to attend graduate school or other continuing education.
- Among those planning to work, serve in the military, or participate in a volunteer/service program, 93% reported an accepted position within six months of graduation.
- 91% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that UW-Madison prepared them for the next step in their career path.
- The top 10 employers of graduates in 2024-25 were UW-Madison, Epic, UW Health, State of Wisconsin, Techtronic Industries (TTI), Amazon, Madison Metropolitan School District, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Deloitte, and Ernst & Young (EY). Respondents reported employment with 2,354 unique employers.
- The most common job titles of graduates are Software Engineer, Registered Nurse, Analyst, Financial Analyst, and Software Developer
- 40% of those reporting employment were working in Wisconsin, and students reported employment in 43 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, 46 states, and 36 countries
The public dashboard below allows you to explore the career outcomes of our bachelor’s degree recipients by major, school/college, and location. Any major with fewer than five responses will not display data when selected to protect the anonymity of students, but the responses are still included in the overall results and results at the school/college level. The default setting is “all schools” and “all majors”.
Please note: When selecting filters, the dashboard may take a few minutes to reload and display all information.
Schools/Colleges, Departments, Career Services Units, and other employees can click here or on the image below to access internal data via the First Destination Survey Tableau visualization with detailed summary results for campus, by school/college, by major, and by department. Please note that this visualization is currently for 2023-24 data and earlier, the 2024-25 version is forthcoming. (Note this visualization is only available to UW-Madison employees).
The First Destination Survey meets guidelines of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and allows for standardized reporting around what bachelor’s degree recipients plan immediately after graduation. A copy of the questionnaire is available here.
For more detailed information contact Sara Lazenby.