University of Wisconsin–Platteville (also known as UW–Platteville) is a public university located in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers both bachelor and master degrees. The university has three colleges that serve over 7,000 students on-campus and an additional 3,000 students through its five distance education programs. The University grew from the 1959 merger of two schools: a teacher preparation college and a trade school dedicated to producing specialized technicians for mining. The first of these was the elder. The Platteville Normal School was established in 1866 as the first teacher preparation school in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Mining Trade School, founded in 1907, had evolved into the first three year program for mining engineers in the United States before the merger. The schools combined became the Wisconsin State College and Institute of Technology. In 1966, when they joined the University of Wisconsin System, it was redubbed the Wisconsin Institute of Technology.