Best Private Colleges in Wisconsin 2023

Best Private Colleges in Wisconsin 2023

By James Barham

Published: May 6, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Wisconsin.

10 Best Private Colleges in Wisconsin

Marquette University

51%

Lawrence University

43%

38%

Milwaukee School of Engineering

32%

29%

Carthage College

29%

Concordia University Wisconsin

27%

Carroll University

27%

St. Norbert College

25%

Cardinal Stritch University

24%

Wisconsin Lutheran College

98%

Edgewood College

95%

Alverno College

91%

Cardinal Stritch University

89%

Marquette University

86%

St. Norbert College

85%

80%

Lakeland University

80%

Maranatha Baptist University

80%

Viterbo University

77%

Lakeland University

15 to 1

Carroll University

14 to 1

14 to 1

Milwaukee School of Engineering

14 to 1

Marquette University

13 to 1

Carthage College

13 to 1

St. Norbert College

13 to 1

Viterbo University

12 to 1

Wisconsin Lutheran College

12 to 1

Maranatha Baptist University

12 to 1

$54,680

Lawrence University

$52,401

$48,100

Marquette University

$45,766

Milwaukee School of Engineering

$45,099

St. Norbert College

$41,887

Northland College

$39,894

Carroll University

$35,140

Cardinal Stritch University

$34,762

Carthage College

$33,000

Carthage College

$33,000

Milwaukee School of Engineering

$24,057

Marquette University

$21,960

Edgewood College

$18,936

Mount Mary University

$16,882

Carroll University

$12,713

Lakeland University

$12,366

Concordia University Wisconsin

$11,628

Cardinal Stritch University

$11,440

Marian University

$11,286

Maranatha Baptist University

12%

Wisconsin Lutheran College

17%

Northland College

17%

Marian University

17%

Mount Mary University

17%

Lakeland University

17%

Viterbo University

20%

Alverno College

22%

Edgewood College

24%

Cardinal Stritch University

24%

Northland College

58%

Mount Mary University

62%

67%

Milwaukee School of Engineering

67%

Concordia University Wisconsin

69%

Carroll University

70%

Lawrence University

75%

Marian University

76%

Carthage College

76%

Viterbo University

77%

Lawrence University

8 to 1

Cardinal Stritch University

9 to 1

Northland College

10 to 1

10 to 1

Alverno College

10 to 1

Mount Mary University

10 to 1

Concordia University Wisconsin

11 to 1

Viterbo University

12 to 1

Wisconsin Lutheran College

12 to 1

Maranatha Baptist University

12 to 1

Maranatha Baptist University

$18,050

Marian University

$29,130

Viterbo University

$29,920

Alverno College

$31,258

Lakeland University

$31,316

Concordia University Wisconsin

$31,952

Edgewood College

$32,600

Mount Mary University

$32,760

Wisconsin Lutheran College

$32,766

Carthage College

$33,000

Maranatha Baptist University

$7,120

Viterbo University

$9,488

Alverno College

$9,552

Wisconsin Lutheran College

$10,080

St. Norbert College

$11,100

Marian University

$11,286

Cardinal Stritch University

$11,440

Concordia University Wisconsin

$11,628

Lakeland University

$12,366

Carroll University

$12,713

Colleges and Universities in Wisconsin

Between community colleges, technical schools, and universities, Wisconsin has 30 public schools. All the public schools in Wisconsin have affordable tuitions, ranging from $4,000 to $11,000. The University of Wisconsin - Madison has over 35,000 students in attendance, making it the largest in the state. The tuition runs about $11,000, and the school boasts an 85% graduation rate. Public affairs, veterinary medicine, and human ecology are just some of the fields students can study here.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Of Wisconsin’s 29 private schools, 18 are religious. With just under 10,000 students, Marquette University is the largest, and tuition for this school is about $42,000. Located in Milwaukee, this Catholic, Jesuit university offers degrees in fields like business, engineering, physical therapy, and law. Also located in Milwaukee, the state’s smallest institution, the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology, is a private graduate school with just over 30 students, and is geared toward those earning their doctoral degree in clinical psychology. Wisconsin, like many states, also provides a loan forgiveness program to those who are working in the health care field.

When people think Wisconsin, they might immediately crave cheese. After all, the state is home to a museum dedicated to all things cheese, including the annual making of a 90-pound wheel of Swiss. But The Beaver State is also known for its more than 15,000 lakes, including Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Prospective students looking to earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree will enjoy the food, landscape, and educational variety Wisconsin has to offer.

Learn more about Wisconsin’s higher education opportunities by checking out the state’s variety of colleges and universities.

What are Wisconsin’s Colleges & Universities?

Wisconsin’s Best Overall

What is the difference between public and private colleges?

Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models. Public colleges and universities are owned by the state and receive both state and federal funding to operate. Private colleges and universities are private companies with private funding. If you’re looking at the pros and cons of private vs. public colleges, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.

Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a bachelor’s degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. Attending a college in-state is usually the cheapest option. Private universities and colleges can be very competitive with their funding opportunities, so do not simply believe that private colleges are always going to be more expensive. According to National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually. But in the end, the cost of college comes down to each student’s academic and financial situation.

Wisconsin's Best Private Colleges and Universities Badge — Download Badge

How do we determine Wisconsin's best private colleges and universities?

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees. We’ve identified 19 private universities in Wisconsin. To be included in the list below of the best private universities in Wisconsin, schools must be fully accredited, private, non-profit institution, and must offer a broad range of bachelor’s degrees.

Best Private Colleges in Wisconsin

Build Your Own Custom College Rankings

Wisconsin’s Best Private Colleges in Your Area Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

Check out our directory of private colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top private schools in every state.