University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is committed to preparing students to succeed in a connected world influenced by global economic and social forces. Our recently implemented Blugold Commitment program extends to all UW-Eau Claire students the opportunity to participate in high-impact, experiential learning programs such as study abroad, internships, domestic or international cultural immersion programs and faculty-student research. Our students earn top-level honors, including Rhodes, Truman and Goldwater scholarships. In recent years, UW-Eau Claire has had more students receive Fulbright grants than most master's-level schools in the country. UW-Eau Claire is ranked third nationally - the highest of any Wisconsin university - for its number of chemistry graduates among the 339 colleges and universities that offer American Chemical Society-approved undergraduate chemistry programs, and we graduate more physics majors than most other similar colleges in the country, according to the American Institute of Physics. Our business program has distinguished itself from other business programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota through its ACCSB International accreditation - a mark of quality achieved by fewer than 5 percent of all business schools in the world. UW-Eau Claire has a nationally recognized undergraduate student-faculty research program. By their senior year, 35 percent of all students have worked with faculty on research and other scholarly projects as a supplement to their course requirements or plan to do so before they graduate. A growing number of courses also involve students in authentic research. Results from these projects have been published in prestigious journals (such as the Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, Biochemistry, and Chemical and Engineering News) and often are presented by students at regional, national and international conferences. Our highly respected music program features faculty and students who perform worldwide, with venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Vatican, and our Jazz Ensemble I was honored with the national Down Beat Award for Best College Jazz Ensemble. UW-Eau Claire offers many programs that allow students to study, live and work in international settings, as well as programs that bring international students to campus. UW-Eau Claire sends more students abroad for mid-length (quarter- or semesterlong) study-abroad experiences than any other master's level institution in Wisconsin, and it is the only Wisconsin school - public or private - on the top-20 list of master's-level schools that send students on mid-length programs. A growing number of education students complete their student teaching abroad. An increasing number of students earn scholarships through competitive programs to study and conduct research abroad, and more are completing internships in international settings. Students also are having meaningful domestic cultural immersion experiences, ranging from civil rights pilgrimages in the South to volunteer work in northern Wisconsin tribal schools to research in Western mountain ranges. UW-Eau Claire is one of just a handful of public regional universities in the country - and the only one in Wisconsin - to include service-learning as a graduation requirement. Each year about 2,000 students generate more than 400,000 community-service hours. It's estimated that the value of our students' service totals more than $1.5 million a year. UW-Eau Claire is the only Wisconsin university - public or private - named each year to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for General Community Service. UW-Eau Claire is a signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment is named among the most environmentally responsible colleges and universities in the United States and Canada in "The Princeton Review's Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition."