University of Wisconsin–Madison vs. Colby College: Which Offers Better Undergraduate Research Opportunities?

For the widest range of undergraduate research options, especially in STEM, medicine-adjacent fields, engineering, data science, and large-scale social science, Wisconsin–Madison has the edge. It is a major research university with extensive laboratories, institutes, archives, and externally funded projects, and programs such as the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowships can help students enter research and fund independent work. The tradeoff is that students need to be proactive: some labs are large, graduate students and postdocs may supervise day-to-day work, and the most sought-after positions can be competitive.

Colby has fewer labs and narrower overall research breadth than Wisconsin–Madison, so it may be less advantageous for highly specialized technical interests that require a large research infrastructure. But for students interested in fields such as environmental studies, biology, chemistry, psychology, economics, government, humanities, or interdisciplinary work, its close faculty access can produce a deeper undergraduate-level research relationship. The decision turns on whether you value Wisconsin’s scale and specialization or Colby’s more consistent one-on-one mentorship.