University of Wisconsin–Platteville

University of Wisconsin–Platteville (also known as UW–Platteville) is a public university located in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges that serve over 8,000 students on-campus and an additional 3,000 students through its five distance education programs.

History

The university grew from the 1959 merger of two schools:Wisconsin State College, Platteville and Wisconsin Institute of Technology. WSC-Platteville was founded in 1866 as Platteville Normal School, the first teacher preparation school in Wisconsin. It was renamed Platteville State Teachers College in 1926 and Wisconsin State College, Platteville in 1951. The Wisconsin Institute of Technology, founded in 1907 as the Wisconsin Mining Trade School, was founded to train technicians for the numerous mining operations around Platteville. It evolved into the first three-year program for mining engineers in the United States. It changed its name to the Wisconsin Institute of Technology in 1939. The schools combined became the Wisconsin State College and Institute of Technology. In 1966, along with Wisconsin's other state colleges, it was granted university status as Wisconsin State University-Platteville. It took its current name after the Wisconsin State University system merged with the University of Wisconsin in 1971.