Badger Community

Memorial Union

The lakefront union is the single most iconic and memorable place on campus to socialize with friends and colleagues. There is a continual hum of activity within: live music and theater, Badger games on the big-screen, art exhibits, and a variety of dining options.

Memorial Union

The Terrace

With breathtaking views of the lake, the stars, and the campus shoreline, the Terrace will quickly become your favorite spot. Relax with friends, study to the sounds of waves lapping on shore, enjoy local bands, and indulge in a famous Wisconsin bratwurst.

The Terrace is usually packed with tables of patrons seeking a summer breeze, a picturesque sunset, or an evening outdoor film. Last season the Union kept the Terrace spirit alive by offering distanced seating. We look forward to welcoming all our visitors back this season.

The Terrace

Spectators in the Memorial Union Rathskeller watch the 2019 Women's Soccer World Cup final game and cheer

The Rathskeller

When Badger student-athletes take their game to the next level, you can count on a crowd of fans cheering them on during live broadcasts at the Rathskeller. Whether it’s Big Ten sports, World Cup competition, or election-night watch parties, there’s strength in community.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Student organizations play a critical role in helping students identify personal interests, passions, and priorities. They provide the perfect playground for exploration in a wide variety of areas, from sports to social justice to science.

Explore student organizations

Intramural Sports

Friendly competition is a great way to let off steam at the end of the day with roommates, classmates, or old friends and new. RecWell supports free fall and spring leagues in tennis, soccer, and golf, to name a few. Trivia nights are also on the menu.

Intramural Sports

Patty Loew, professor of life sciences communication and a Bad River tribal member, talks about cultural history and digital storytelling with nine high school students from Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Nation as the youth gathered near a Native American effigy mound and the Tree of Peace on Observatory Hill

Ancestral Lands

The UW–Madison campus was built on ancestral Ho-Chunk land. In the spirit of respect and reconciliation, a renewed and ongoing commitment exists to educate and raise awareness about Wisconsin’s indigenous populations.

Our Shared Future

A Sense of Belonging

Finding one’s sense of purpose is a lifelong endeavor, and the University of Wisconsin is committed to providing a safe and welcoming place for students to grow, learn, and build community, through programs and activities that connect, inspire, and engage.

Student Affairs

Student silhouette on an ornate building in a foreign country showing the W sign with hands

Study Abroad

The UW–Madison campus is your doorway to the world. The UW academic community extends to 65 countries with robust study-abroad programs. As the world reopens, global and cross-cultural engagement and understanding are as vital as ever to the student experience.

Study Abroad

A pair of drum majors march at the UW Marching Band performs at Camp Randall

Camp Randall 5th Quarter

Win or lose, arguably the best part of any Badger football game is the 5th Quarter: a postgame celebration led by the UW Marching Band that is sometimes more riotous than the game itself.

Listen to the band