Frequently Asked Questions

While this is not a fully online degree, students have the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways including online or face to face. Some courses require hands-on lab experiences, often on Saturdays.

Face-to-face opportunities include UW-Platteville mechanical, industrial and systems, and electrical engineering courses taught on the UW-Platteville campus.

The time required to earn your degree varies based on the number of transfer credits you complete, your initial math placement, the number of credits taken each semester, and your internship/cooperative education experience. You may complete your degree on a part-time or full-time basis.

The cost of tuition will depend on your path to completion. 

The courses you enroll through UW-Platteville for will be billed at the UW-Platteville tuition and fee rate. Tuition does not include lab supplies expenses. For more information on UW-Platteville’s tuition and fees, please visit the Cashier's Office or contact cashieroff@uwplatt.edu or 608.342.1211.

For courses taken at other institutions, you will need to contact those institutions for tuition and fee information.

You will need access to high speed internet. UW-Platteville issues licenses to Virtual Desktop (VMware) which enables you to access all software remotely.

UW-Platteville offers most courses in an alternative delivery format though students may opt to complete their associate’s and pre-engineering courses with a partner. 

UW-Platteville’s partners include UWO-Fox Cities, UW-Whitewater Rock County, UW-Stevens Point Wausau, Madison College, Nicolet College, and Carroll University.

If you do not take classes for a semester, you may need to reapply to the program. You will be notified if this occurs.

When you apply to the program depends on a variety of items. Please complete this short form, https://slate.uwplatt.edu/register/peprfi, and one of our PEP representatives will contact you.

Electrical engineering students: You should apply during the semester you are taking Calculus I.

Mechanical engineering students: You should complete the majority of your pre-engineering courses before applying to UW-Platteville since many of the pre-engineering courses are prerequisites for professional engineering courses.

Industrial and systems engineering students: You should complete the majority of your pre-engineering courses before applying to UW-Platteville since many of the pre-engineering courses are prerequisites for professional engineering courses.

No, you don’t need an associate’s degree before applying to UW-Platteville. In fact, if you wait to apply to UW-Platteville until after you have completed an associate’s degree, it may take you longer to obtain a degree in engineering.

There are different types of associate’s degrees.

An Associate of Arts and Science may be accepted if the institution has an articulation agreement with UW-Platteville.

An Associate in Science from Madison College satisfies UW-Platteville’s general education requirements. This degree may be earned at any point prior to graduating from UW-Platteville with a bachelor’s degree.

An Associate of Applied Science does not satisfy UW-Platteville’s general education requirements; however, credits from the degree may transfer on a course-by-course review.

Yes, you can take courses simultaneously for both your associate’s and bachelor’s degrees during your final semester. The official transcript showing the earned Associate of Arts and/or Science degree must be submitted to UW-Platteville before the bachelor’s degree is granted.

It is recommended that you take general education and pre-engineering courses that are not prerequisite courses simultaneously with your professional engineering courses to balance your semester workload.

Courses are offered on a rotation. Most courses are offered once every year, though some courses are offered once every other year. Conversations with your advisor will help you plan accordingly.

Yes, UW-Platteville offers many online general education courses as well as an online Associate of Arts and Science degree.

UW-Platteville offers all of the general education courses and most of the pre-engineering courses in an alternative delivery format (including online).  However, you can take general education and pre-engineering courses through any accredited institution. When taking courses at another institution you should consider the following:

1. An Associate in Sciences degree from UW System partner institutions and Madison College automatically satisfies the general education requirements for UW-Platteville. If you choose to take general education courses at an institution that does not have an articulation agreement with UW-Platteville, each course will need to be evaluated individually. For more information on our transfer polices visit the UW-Platteville Catalog.
2. You will want to ensure that the desired courses will transfer to UW-Platteville as the required courses and not simply as electives. Just because a course has the same title it does not mean the same content is covered in each course. To learn more about which courses will transfer, use the Transferology tool.

Credits may be accepted from accredited two-year and four-year institutions recognized by the Council for Higher Education. Courses that are vocational, technical, remedial, or doctrinal in nature are not transferable. UW-Platteville’s transfer policy is that once a student is admitted Admissions will provide a course-to-course transfer evaluation.

Yes, if you have extensive training or significant practical experience, you may be able to waive certain courses or pursue test-out options. Please work with your UW-Platteville advisor if you feel you may be able to waive or test-out of a certain course.

Yes, there are internships and cooperative education (co-op) opportunities available to qualified students. You can find out about these opportunities through your academic advisor, faculty, UW-Platteville’s fall and spring career fairs, and Career and Professional Development Office.

If you are an international student you must live in Platteville, Wisconsin, to complete an engineering program through UW-Platteville. You can review the policy for international students.