Campus

The living at UWM is as important, and vibrant, as the learning. UWM makes its home on a compact campus with big options. Packed into our 104 acres are historic academic buildings with cutting-edge technology, as well as movie theaters, performance venues, bowling and ping pong, art galleries, a free-for-you athletics facility, a planetarium, 15 NCAA Division I sports teams, and more than 300 student and professional organizations. Open the campus map, follow this suggested route through campus (or choose your own), and read on about our unique and historic buildings:

1. Vogel Hall

Built in 1936 as part of the Milwaukee-Downer Seminary campus, Vogel Hall has served as home to many campus departments. It is now the UWM Visitor Center and home to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

2. Curtin Hall

Named for Jeremiah Curtin, who it is said mastered 70 languages (well, maybe just how to say hello), Curtin Hall is where you will find UWM’s foreign language departments. Twenty languages, including American Sign Language, are offered. The English and Philosophy departments, the English as a Second Language program, a computer lab and the UWM Writing Center are also located here.

3. The Arts Center

The Peck School of the Arts not only teaches students of art, dance, music, theatre and film, but also serves the metropolitan community with public performances and exhibits by various UWM student performance organizations and many faculty artists. You do not need to be a music major to participate in a performance group.

4. Mitchell Hall

Originally the main building for Milwaukee’s State Normal School, Mitchell Hall now houses The Graduate School, the Accessibility Resource Center, art and dance studios, the film department and the Bursar’s (cashier’s) office.

5. Mellencamp Hall

Mellencamp Hall is where you will find the Office of the Registrar, the Career Development Center, the Financial Aid Office, the Testing Center and the Dean of Students/Office of Student Life.

6. UWM Union

The UWM Union serves as a community center for the campus. By design and location, the Union is the destination point for students on campus when they’re not in a classroom or in the library. Within the Union you will find: the Bookstore, one of three campus movie theaters, a large bowling alley, ping pong tables, and arcade, UW Credit Union, Grind (coffeehouse), and the food court. The offices for student organizations, the Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research, the Military and Veterans Resource Center, the Women’s Resource Center, the Neighborhood Housing Office and the LGBT Resource Center are all found here.

7. Bolton Hall

Many of the social science department offices, a computer lab and the Student Success Center are in this building. The first floor features the multicultural student centers, the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), and the Student Success Center for tutoring and first year services. Bolton 150 is a commonly used lecture hall. Don’t let the size fool you, our average undergraduate class size is routinely under 30.

8. Lubar Hall

This state-of-the-art facility houses the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business. The David O. Nicholas Applied Finance Lab offers business students access to the same technology, databases, and real-time market data, analysis, and news available to professional traders in investment firms.

The bridge along Maryland Avenue leadas to the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex (KIRC), the first new academically focused building on our East Side campus in nearly two decades.

9. Physics Building

The Physics Building houses more than just the Physics department. A variety of subjects are offered in the numerous classrooms and labs. The Manfred Olson Planetarium is adjacent to the building. Astronomy equipment on the roof is available to students currently enrolled in astronomy classes at UWM.

10. Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Building

The four-story portion of the EMS building contains laboratory and heavy-duty research elements, while the 13-story tower houses classrooms, offices and lecture halls. The Institute for Industrial Innovation provides a portal for partnerships with industry by expanding research opportunities and giving students a role in real-world applications of engineering using state-of-the-art technology. EMS also features the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Student Center. Kulwicki, a mechanical engineering alum, was the first college grad to win the Winston Cup title.

11. Chemistry Building

The four-story classroom section houses lecture halls and laboratories. The eight-story research tower has research facilities and offices. Even if you are not studying chemistry, you may find your class scheduled in this building.

12. Laura Moynihan Field at Engelmann Stadium

Home to the men’s and women’s soccer teams, the field received a new synthetic surface in 2010 as a performance upgrade. Renamed Laura Moynihan Field to honor the former UWM soccer coach and state pioneer in women’s soccer, it is considered one of the best college soccer environments in the country having received a 2-Star rating from FIFA, the highest a synthetic field can receive from the world governing body for soccer.

13. Cunningham Hall

Facilities in this 10-story building housing the College of Nursing emphasize teaching with electronic learning systems and self-instructional aids. Degrees conferred by the College of Nursing range from the bachelor’s to the doctorate level.

14. UWM Children’s Learning Center

The UWM Children’s Learning Center moved to this newly renovated space in the Northwest Quadrant in December 2013. The Center offers child care services, employment and educational opportunities for UWM students.

15. Engelmann Hall

Previously used for the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Engelmann was renovated to provide space for many campus offices such as Payroll and Human Resources in the mid-90s. There is a gymnasium on the west end used for intramurals and sport and recreation classes. An auditorium used as a lecture hall is on the east end of the building.

16. Architecture & Urban Planning Building

Opened for classes in the fall of 1993, this building was designed exclusively for the use of architecture and urban planning students. The Master of Architecture degree is the only nationally accredited professional program of architecture in Wisconsin. We offer one of 23 PhDs in North America.

17. Lapham Hall

Named for Increase Allen Lapham, the man considered the father of the U.S. Weather Bureau, Lapham Hall features science labs, a seismograph that measures earthquakes worldwide and the Greene Museum collection of fossils and minerals. An addition along the back of the building created traditional classroom space so you may have a class here that isn’t a science course.

18. Sandburg Residence Halls

The towers house 2,600 students. Features found in Sandburg Halls include a movie theatre, fitness center, computer lab, cafeteria, restaurant, coffee-house, grocery store and the campus police department. Tours of UWM residence life facilities are offered throughout the day, typically on the hour. Be sure to stop at the main desk in the Sandburg lobby to ask about a tour.

19. Chapman Hall

Originally a library for the Milwaukee Downer College, Chapman Hall is the location for the offices of campus administrators.

20. Golda Meir Library (across the street)

Named for Golda Meir, the first female prime minister of Israel and alum of the Milwaukee Normal School (a predecessor to UWM), this facility houses the UWM Libraries. Students have access to the second largest academic resource collection in Wisconsin with over 5 million cataloged items as well as holdings at other libraries throughout the country.

The Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons on the first floor of the west wing features group study rooms, our largest computer lab for student use (200 computers) and a coffeehouse. This is a collaborative learning space, so feel free to talk! Open around the clock from noon Sunday through 7p.m. Friday (with limited hours on Saturdays), it is a great place to get your studying done.

21. Enderis Hall

The 11-story building houses three of our 14 schools and colleges; the School of Education, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, and the College of Health Sciences. The first floor features a student lounge with food service.

22. Norris Health Center

Named for Robert Norris, UWM’s first Dean of Student Affairs, the Norris Health Center is UWM’s on-campus health center. The staff is dedicated to health care. A valid UWM student ID is your membership card for service. Health insurance is not required to use the Norris Health Center. Other than a modest fee for prescriptions/vaccines, some laboratory tests and selected procedures, services are free! Students may be referred to Columbia/St. Mary’s Hospital located about a mile south of campus on Lake Drive.

23. Downer Woods

Given to the university with the stipulation that it never be developed, the approximately 11 acre fenced woods is a permanent conservation area, used for research in natural science, botany and biology courses. You may hike in the woods if you’d like, but please take only photos and leave only footprints. You may spot raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and deer.

24. Pavilion/ Klotsche Center (Sports and Recreation Center)

Named for J. Martin Klotsche, the first chancellor of UWM, use of the facility is free to all students who have a valid UWM ID. While there is no physical education requirement at UWM, a variety of sport and recreation classes are offered. The Center features a swimming pool, an arena with a 200 meter oval track, handball and racquetball courts and classrooms. The Pavilion addition, which opened in January 2006, features a gymnasium with 4 full-sized courts, a high-tech fitness center, a cardio room with a six screen theater system, an 1/8 mile suspended track, wireless commons area for relaxing and an expanded parking facility.

25. Sabin Hall

Sabin Hall provides office space for the departments of Anthropology and University Information and Technology Services.

Milwaukee-Downer College Cluster

Built in the gracious Collegiate-Gothic style, Johnston, Merrill, Holton and Greene Halls are listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places for their architectural and historical significance to the community.

These buildings, along with Sabin Hall, Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, Chapman Hall, and the Norris Health Center, were part of the Milwaukee-Downer College, which was founded in 1855 and moved to this location in 1899. UWM purchased the 43-acre campus in 1964. Notice the terra cotta tiling, sundial and gargoyles. Although we can’t prove it, it is said that the architect used faces of the people he disliked when fashioning the hooded faces along the roof line of Johnston Hall.

26. Holton Hall

Holton Hall is home to the largest college at UWM, the College of Letters and Science. L&S advises students in more than 40 programs as well as “undecided” students.

27. Merrill Hall

Merrill Hall, originally a classroom building, now houses Faculty offices and classrooms for the College of Letters and Science.

28. Johnston Hall

Campus legend says that Johnston Hall is haunted by a friendly ghost. It was originally a residence hall for Milwaukee-Downer College, but now houses offices and classrooms.

29. Greene Hall

Originally the Milwaukee-Downer College library, Greene Hall is currently used as a conference/meeting room for special events. Greene Hall is connected to the back of Merrill Hall.

30. Garland/Pearse Halls

Originally part of the Milwaukee-Downer Seminary campus, Garland and Pearse Halls house the offices of the Psychology Department and the Center for International Education.

31. Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts

The Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts is the signature building of the Peck School of the Arts. The former Temple Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun has been renovated for use as rehearsal, classroom and performance space for the music and dance programs. The building houses the 834-seat Helen Bader Concert Hall as well as box office facilities, the Mary L. Nohl Art Galleries, and faculty and staff offices.

32. Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies

Housed in the renovated Greene Memorial Museum built in 1913 as part of Milwaukee Downer College, the Stahl Center serves the UWM campus and the Milwaukee community with courses and public events covering a wide variety of topics in the field of Jewish Studies. Courses range in time from the biblical period to the present, and embrace disciplines throughout the humanities and social sciences, including history, literature, theatre, film, cultural studies, Hebrew language, and religion.