The Wisconsin Idea holds that the education received in the campus classroom should benefit every person in the state, that research have impact beyond the four walls of a laboratory, and that public service become an institutional priority.
As an essential service to UW families, our campus child care system partners work tirelessly to support this belief, whether through student practicums where experienced educators mentor and model best practices for tomorrow’s workforce, through access to researchers who explore and expand knowledge, or through collaboration with the greater community of early childhood professionals who ensure the brightest future for our youngest learners.
Advancing the university's commitment to teaching & learning
354 Students
using Campus Early Education as teaching and research sites to enrich their studies
8700 Hours
of hands-on experience in teaching and research students engaged within our Campus Early Education programs.
35 UW departments
benefitting from teaching and research being completed at our Campus Early Education programs
Teaching

Building access to affordable, high-quality child care starts with developing and retaining a skilled workforce of early childhood professionals.
UW’s three campus child care centers offer opportunities for aspiring educators to get hands-on experience with experienced professionals. These centers are also qualifying sites for the UW Teacher Pledge Program, which provides student loan forgiveness after 3-4 years of employment after graduation.
Research
As a leading research institution, UW–Madison provides students opportunities to work alongside world-renowned scholars in pursuit of groundbreaking research with the potential to change lives.
We support cross-campus research collaborations, helping students and researchers connect to our families and child care centers.

Outreach

To be of a greater service to our great state, our office works to develop collaborations with childcare and early education partners and throughout Wisconsin.
Odyssey
The University of Wisconsin – Madison Odyssey Project provides members of our community facing socio-economic barriers with a chance to start college. Many of these students are parents of young children. Those who enroll in this introductory humanities course have access to evening child care funded by the Office of Child Care & Family Resources.
UW System Child Care Centers
We also work to advance the professionalism of the early childhood field by working closely with partners like UW System Child Care Centers to collaborate on professional development, retention strategies, and cutting-edge research.