Chemistry, the "Central Science", is the fundamental science of matter -- its structure, composition, and transformations. As such, chemistry has wide applications in all the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences. Chemistry is involved in solving some of the most pressing problems facing our society today, such as the need for new and better materials, worldwide food shortages, dwindling energy resources, environmental problems, and medical issues.

The planning, designing, and construction of facilities that serve people are what civil engineering is all about. These facilities include the highways that connect our nation's cities, airports that serve our travelers, bridges that span our rivers and harbors, dams and levees that control floods and supply water for our cities, and sewage treatment plants that protect our environment. Working with architects and engineers from other disciplines, the civil engineer also participates in the design and construction of buildings.

Computer Science is concerned with the theory and practice involved in the feasibility, design, implementation and evaluation of every aspect of computing. In addition to the valuable practical skills acquired in the study of computer science, the concepts and theories in the field provide exposure to some of the most imaginative and challenging ideas in the history of human intellectual development.

UW-Platteville engineering graduates are well received by employers, and our placement rate is excellent. UW-Platteville electrical engineering graduates have positions with major industrial companies, applying technical skills to solve design, sales, and management problems. Employers of recent UW-Platteville graduates include Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Ameritech, IBM, GTE, Commonwealth Edison, and Wisconsin Power and Light. Starting salaries are competitive with national averages.

Physics is a basic science; engineering is the application of science to the safe and economical production of materials, products, and structures important to society. Engineering Physics (EP) is an interdisciplinary program that combines the studies of physics and engineering into a single curriculum. The major credits are split about equally between physics and engineering, particularly mechanical and electrical. An EP major studies mechanical engineering with the ME faculty, electrical engineering with the EE faculty, and physics with the EP faculty. From this the EP major develops the ability to apply the concepts of physics to the solution of engineering problems. Engineering Physics graduates from UWP are well prepared to function in an engineering environment where the traditional boundaries between engineering disciplines are blurred in both old and new technologies.

The environmental engineering program at UW-Platteville is designed to give students a broad background in environmental engineering as well as civil engineering basics such as surveying, fluid mechanics and geotechnical engineering. Practical applications are emphasized with sufficient theory so that the individual can grow with the future as new materials, methods, and designs develop. Environmental engineering was historically an area of "emphasis", or a sub-discipline of civil engineering, a traditionally strong program at UW-Platteville. The environmental emphasis in civil engineering remains, but a new program offering a degree in Environmental Engineering was recently developed to provide students a more in-depth program of study in the field. While many graduate programs exist, Environmental Engineering at UW-Platteville is the only undergraduate program in the state of Wisconsin, and one of only a few available in the Midwest.

The General Engineering (GE) program is designed to prepare students for admission into one of six professional engineering programs available at UW-Platteville. All of the programs, except the new program in Software Engineering is ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited. Transfer students who do not immediately qualify for a professional program and all new freshman engineering students must begin their UW-Platteville studies in the General Engineering Department.

Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, and technology. Industrial engineers combine knowledge of mathematics, physical sciences, and social sciences with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design. At one time, industrial engineers were employed mainly in manufacturing, however, today they are employed by both manufacturing and service industries, which has increased the demand for industrial engineers.

Mechanical engineers meet the needs of society in many important ways including the creative planning, development, and operation of mechanical systems for uing energy, machines, and resources; the use and commercial conversion of energy to provide heat, cooling, transportation, and power; the design and production of labor-saving machines; and the processing of materials into useful products. Mechanical engineers serve such diverse areas as energy, mechanical systems, robotics, automation, environment, transportation, heating and cooling systems, bioengineering, manufacturing systems, and electronics. Mechanical engineering is an exciting and challenging profession for men and women.

• Mathematics majors who plan to work in business or industry after graduation choose their electives from applied mathematics courses such as differential equations, numerical analysis, probability, and statistics.
• Mathematics majors who plan to pursue graduate work in mathematics select courses from each of the following areas of mathematics: algebra, analysis, and geometry.
• Mathematics majors planning to work toward an advanced degree in statistics include junior-senior level probability and statistics courses among their mathematics electives.
• Mathematics majors who plan to teach in secondary/middle schools select courses designed for teacher preparation.

The prepharmacy program at UW-Platteville involves two years of study in a selected group of courses covering a wide variety of subject matter. The courses provide the necessary science background as well as on understanding of people and institutions to insure that students completing the program succeed in pharmacy school and in their practice of pharmacy. Since Prepharmacy is a preprofessional program at UW-Platteville and not a major, students should declare a major, typically chemistry, to facilitate advising, special events, and administrative matters.

Software engineering is the application of sound engineering principles and techniques to the analysis, design, development, testing and management of software systems. It is an interdisciplinary study integrating traditional computer science, which focuses on algorithm development and related theoretical issues, with engineering, which emphasizes designing and building complex, safe, reliable systems for general use. Its goal is the production of quality software, on time and within budget. It is a relatively new engineering field that is rapidly growing.