The School of Education's Office of Education Outreach (OEO) offers professional development programs throughout the year to teachers, administrators, and others involved with K–12 education. OEO programs are endorsed by academic departments at UW–Madison, address specific teacher standards, and offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and/or credit. The office also provides a variety of challenging and engaging pre-college programs for youth. Learning opportunities are available on campus, on-site, and through distance delivery.

The Office of Space Science Education (OSSE) was established within the Space Science & Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to conduct K–12 education and public outreach programs. OSSE specializes in the design and implementation of local, regional, national, and international education programs that are based on current scientific research themes of federal agencies such as NASA and NOAA. OSSE programs encompass the multidisciplinary areas of space science, including earth systems science, atmospheric science, solar system exploration, astronomy, and physics. Additional areas of emphasis include programs supporting the unique educational needs of historically underserved communities, including Native Americans, Spanish-speaking students, young women, and students from rural and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Partnerships between scientists and teachers to develop standards-based programs that achieve the mutual objective of improving the level of literacy for science, math, and technology education are key. OSSE’s outreach Web site provides links to lesson plans as well as other programs and teacher resources.

Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Studies, these noncredit online courses offer those interested the chance to study at their own pace, in their own home, and still enjoy one-on-one interaction with an instructor via e-mail. Courses are offered in art, dance, mathematics, music, Spanish, theology/philosophy, and writing.