In 1965, the leaders of Waukesha County and the State of Wisconsin jointly decided that demand existed in the Waukesha area for a public institute of higher learning. They worked together to build and begin an extension of the University of Wisconsin System which would provide higher education to students who did not want to go to one of the larger campuses such as Madison, Milwaukee, and La Cross.

Christened UW-Waukesha, the school that would later be nicknamed "Harvard on the hill" by some of its students opened its doors in September of 1966.

After that first year of classes, the school had only 600 students, however enrollment climbed to 900 by the following year, and continued to rise well into the 1980s. In addition to growing student population, the campus its self grew and changed over the years.

While growing in size and student population through the years, UW Waukesha has also provided the community with a place for heated political debates and protests.

Today, UW-Waukesha a steady student population of about 1700, and continues to maintain a well kept facility with continued remodeling projects and campus improvements. In 1996 the University completed the long awaited remodeling of the student Commons, Dining Room and Game Room, as well as various offices, classrooms, and hall ways. Further remodeling improvements to the Field House, Southview Classrooms, and Northview Classrooms, along with a plan for extending the roads and parking lots through the campus are planned to be completed by 2003. Meanwhile, UW Waukesha has fought to keep up with the information age and the ever-changing world of computers...

In 1998, UW-Waukesha offered its first course to be taught and graded completely over the Internet. Many more Internet courses and other technology based distance learning classes are expected to be offered 21st century.