Use an en dash for the four-year campuses, except for UW Oshkosh. Preferred naming conventions for their branch campuses are below. See also CMS 6.81.
Effective July 2018, the two-year campuses formerly known as UW Colleges joined several of the Universities of Wisconsin’s four-year institutions as branch campuses.
Refer to the Universities of Wisconsin style guide for full guidance.
Four-year campuses
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- UW–Eau Claire
- UW–Green Bay
- UW–La Crosse
- UW–Madison
- UW–Milwaukee
- UW Oshkosh
- UW–Platteville
- UW–Stevens Point
- UW–Stout
- UW–Superior
- UW–Whitewater
Branch campuses
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- UW–Eau Claire – Barron County
- UW–Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus
- UW–Green Bay, Marinette Campus
- UW–Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus
- UW–Milwaukee at Washington County
- UW–Milwaukee at Waukesha
- UW Oshkosh, Fond du Lac Campus
- UW Oshkosh, Fox Cities Campus
- UW–Platteville Baraboo Sauk County
- UW–Platteville Richland
- UW–Stevens Point at Marshfield
- UW–Stevens Point at Wausau
- UW–Whitewater at Rock County
The Universities of Wisconsin (formerly called the UW System) comprise 13 four-year universities and their branch campuses.
Universities of Wisconsin is the preferred reference for the collective of the 13 four-year universities. The name takes the form of a plural for subject–verb agreement: The Universities of Wisconsin are …
Do not abbreviate the name to UWs or UW universities on second reference, an exception to the Universities of Wisconsin’s style guide for the UW–Madison campus. This is to avoid confusion with UW–Madison’s common abbreviation to the UW. Instead, spell out the Universities of Wisconsin on all references whenever possible. If necessary, UW system (lowercase) is acceptable to describe the collective of the 13 four-year universities.
Note that the entity’s legal name remains the University of Wisconsin System. This name is still used when referring to the UW System Board of Regents. It’s also used for official documents (such as diplomas), court filings, contracts, grants, and other formal correspondence and delegations of authority.
See also UW System Board of Regents and Universities of Wisconsin (formerly UW System) campus names.
Use an en dash rather than a hyphen between University of Wisconsin and Madison. Spell out on first reference in external publications or publications that will be read widely off campus. UW–Madison (with an en dash, not a hyphen) is acceptable in external publications and in all internal communication for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Do not use the with UW–Madison (research at UW–Madison).
Also acceptable on second reference are the UW and the university (when the context is clearly UW–Madison). To prevent confusion with the Universities of Wisconsin (formerly UW System), however, use the UW as a substitute for UW–Madison only when the context is clearly UW–Madison or the entity is officially named UW instead of University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Law School). Capitalize The only as a formal title in a formal reference, such as in the headline of a program; generally, though, lowercase the.
UW is acceptable when referring to athletics teams or departments that do not use UW–Madison as part of their official names (UW Health, UW Carbone Cancer Center).
See also CMS 6.81.
