Madison College has announced an agreement with a University of Wisconsin school that they say will give a “competitive boost” to students.

The college announced on April 2 that it has entered a partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Under the agreement, biotechnology students can earn a bachelor’s degree and post-baccalaureate certificate in four years. The agreement, referred to as the “3.5 plus .5” agreement, qualified UW-Platteville students can complete UW-Platteville undergraduate degree requirements while earning the baccalaureate certificate.

“By linking Madison College’s post-baccalaureate certificate with UW-Platteville’s four-year biotechnology program, students are fully equipped to enter the job market,” said Terry Webb, Madison College Provost.

UW-Platteville students will come to Madison College to complete the post-baccalaureate certificate by taking 15 credits over the course of one semester. They will need to complete their regular requirements at UW-Platteville, but the 15 credits that they attain through Madison College will be transferred to Platteville as upper division credits.

As for students who are currently in the baccalaureate program, they say this is a benefit for anyone who is jumping into the biotechnology field.

“I think it’s great. I would have loved something like this when I was still doing the four-year college thing. It would have saved a couple semesters,” said Samantha Thompson, a student who is trying to get her post-baccalaureate certificate at Madison College. She received a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and is now getting the certification and further background at Madison College.

“It’ll be great that those Platteville kids will be able to come here get those skills and take them back to Platteville and further into their career,” Thompson said.

Clay Schmidt, another a student in the post-baccalaureate program, also received a bachelor’s from UW-Madison like Thompson did. He says that the program at Madison College helps complete people’s training in the biotech field.

“There isn’t a ton of hands-on (at UW-Madison). It (has) big class sizes. In lab, it’s really crowded and maybe it’s an undergrad lab so it’s not funded that well. There might be a few things to do per person, but here you get the full, hands-on experience,” Schmidt said.

“This partnership also takes advantage of the strengths of each institution for the benefit of students who are pursuing a degree in biotechnology,” Webb said.

The agreement will be in effect starting this fall. UW-Platteville juniors and seniors in their biotechnology program are eligible for this under the agreement.

“This articulation agreement will benefit both UW-Platteville and Madison College, but most importantly it will serve to benefit our students,” said Dennis Shields, UW-Platteville chancellor.

After completing the post-baccalaureate biotechnology program at Madison College, the students will be more equipped to seek entry-level employment in public or private laboratories, according to the college. Those positions can be in labs in universities, pharmaceutical companies, food processing industries, companies performing research and development or companies involved.