Welcome to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville! We are pleased that you chose UW-Platteville as part of your continuing education and hope to make your stay here as rewarding as possible. Platteville is the tri-state (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin) area's second largest city and the largest community southwest of Madison. Platteville is 20 miles northeast of Dubuque, Iowa, 70 miles southwest of Madison, 150 miles west of Milwaukee and 150 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois.

UW-Platteville was established in 1959 when a merger combined the Teachers' School founded in 1866 and the Mining Trade School which was created in 1908. The seal of the university incorporates a bell, symbolic of the Normal School, and the letter "M", symbolic of the Mining School. UW Platteville is one of 13 state-assisted universities in the University of Wisconsin System.

Whether you are here as a student, scholar, or visiting faculty member, this directory is designed to help you locate the resources and services you will need while you are here, and to answer some of your questions. If you are unable to find an answer to your questions, or need to be referred to another student service, academic department or agency, please contact the Office of Foreign Student Services at (608) 342-1852. The office is located in Royce 104, on the first floor, within the Student Services Office.

The Office of Foreign Student Services is the primary liaison between international students and the University and community and provides a variety of services. Examples of services offered are: personal advising and counseling; orientation to the campus and the community; employment, visa and travel information; immigration advising and cultural and educational programming. In addition, the office works closely with the Platteville Friends of International Students organization (PFIS) in planning recreational activities throughout the year. PFIS volunteers help with meeting new students at nearby airports and bus stations upon arrival and with banking and shopping in Platteville during the students' first few days on campus.

This Handbook provides information in areas that might be problematic to new international students, scholars and faculty and offers suggestions on how to alleviate difficulties in those areas. Please take some time to read this Handbook; it is our hope that it will answer many of your questions. This guide should be used in combination with the UW-Platteville Student Handbook and the undergraduate and graduate catalog. Both of these publications contain important information and regulations of the university that you will need to know. You should have a copy of each book as soon as you begin your program. Credit for compiling the Handbook goes to Mahi Tandon, Foreign Student Advisor. We also would like to thank the University of Iowa on which much of the Handbook is based; Central Missouri State University and DePaul University for their handbooks, parts of which were used as guides in creating this Handbook; Graduate Assistant Meredith Gilles for typing the first revision and compiling information for Chapter II, Joseba Maruri for beginning typing the Handbook before leaving for practical training, and community volunteer, Joan Collins, for the up-to-date revisions, clip art insertion and final typing.