The Department of Anthropology and Sociology of the University of Wisconsin Colleges offers lower division courses in these two disciplines as part of the liberal arts/pre-professional curriculum of the institution. Students at any of the thirteen UW Colleges campuses and in the UW Colleges Online Program may take introductory and intermediate courses in anthropology and sociology as they work towards the Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree in the UW Colleges or towards a bachelor's degree in one of the UW System comprehensive universities or elsewhere.

The UW Colleges is a unique partnership between the State of Wisconsin and county or city governments around the state. The purpose is to extend the benefits of a public university education to as many communities as practical. City and/or county governments provide the physical facilities for the campuses while the state provides the budget to run the educational program. That is, the local government provides the buildings and grounds while the state provides the equipment, furniture, faculty and staff, and other necessary resources. Small amounts of additional funding may come from local campus foundations.

The 13 two-year campuses form a single institution, which is known as the University of Wisconsin Colleges. These 13 colleges are transfer institutions preparing freshman and sophomore university students for transfer to any college or university that grants bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts and professional fields. The 13 UW Colleges campuses are:

• UW--Baraboo/Sauk County (in Baraboo)

• UW--Barron County (in Rice Lake)

• UW--Fond du Lac

• UW--Fox Valley (in Menasha/Appleton area)

• UW--Manitowoc

• UW--Marathon County (in Wausau)

• UW--Marinette

• UW--Marshfield/Wood County (in Marshfield)

• UW--Richland (in Richland Center)

• UW--Rock County (in Janesville)

• UW--Sheboygan

• UW--Washington County (in West Bend)

• UW--Waukesha