UW-Madison plans to renew its request for a new residence hall when Wisconsin lawmakers return next year to write the state’s next two-year budget, arguing that enrollment growth has pushed campus housing beyond its intended capacity. University officials say the proposed $393 million residence hall could be built with existing university dollars rather than state taxpayer funding. If approved, construction could begin in 2029, with the building housing between 1,500 and 2,000 students. UW-Madison currently houses about 9,000 students in facilities designed for roughly 8,000, according to university figures. The need for additional beds is expected to become more urgent as a $79 million renovation of three Lakeshore-area residence halls removes 40 beds during construction and 18 beds permanently. That renovation is scheduled for completion in August 2029 and is expected to be financed through University Housing revenue. Two locations identified in a July construction solicitation are a 1.2-acre site on West Dayton Street now occupied by Merit Hall and a 1.8-acre parking lot on North Mills Street between Dayton and Spring streets. The university said other sites within or next to campus could also be considered. The residence hall proposal comes as UW-Madison increasingly turns to private philanthropy to pay for major construction. Donors provided all $267 million for Morgridge Hall, which opened last year at 1205 University Ave. and houses the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. The building’s namesakes, John and Tashia Morgridge, contributed $140 million. Donors also helped finance the $115 million Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall at 930 W. Johnson St., which is scheduled to open this month and will serve humanities students and faculty. Alumni Marvin and Jeffrey Levy gave $20 million toward that project. The Morgridges, the Levys and alumnus Bjorn Borgen collectively donated $150 million toward the $420 million Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center at 1430 Engineering Drive. Republican lawmakers initially blocked state funding for that project in 2023 before approving it as part of a deal involving diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Another donor-supported project is converting Music Hall into a new home for the La Follette School of Public Affairs. Herb Kohl Philanthropies committed $30 million in honor of the late U.S. senator and UW-Madison alumnus. The first phase is expected to be finished in 2029. The university received nearly $350 million in donations from more than 75,000 donors during the 2025 fiscal year. Gifts and grants represented 21% of UW-Madison’s funding, up from 19% the year before. Annual donations have generally ranged from about $300 million to $400 million over the past decade, reaching nearly $470 million in fiscal 2024. State funding, by contrast, has declined sharply as a share of the university’s budget. When the UW System was created about 50 years ago, state support accounted for roughly 43% of UW-Madison’s total budget. It now represents about 13%. Robert Kelchen, a higher-education finance researcher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said colleges nationally have increased fundraising as public support has weakened, particularly since the Great Recession. He said rising operating costs and uncertainty over federal support could make private giving even more important, while economic downturns could make donations less reliable. UW-Madison’s fundraising has remained strong despite those risks. Former Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in May that the university had raised more than $1.6 billion from 127,000 donors during her tenure and was on track for its most successful fundraising year. Enrollment growth has also expanded the university’s revenue needs. Applications from outside Wisconsin have tripled in the past decade, while the share of first-year students from outside Wisconsin or Minnesota rose from 24% in 2015 to 40% in 2026. First-year international enrollment, however, fell 30% from 2024 to 2025 amid uncertainty tied to federal student-visa directives. Kelchen said universities can also seek additional revenue by enrolling more out-of-state and international students, who generally pay higher tuition. That approach can help finance facilities, but it also raises questions about affordability and the university’s role in serving Wisconsin residents. For UW-Madison, the proposed residence hall now represents both a practical housing response and another test of how far the university can rely on revenue generated outside the state budget.