The college was founded in 1912 as the Madison Continuation School, providing vocational education, citizenship, and homemaking classes. In 1921, it moved into a building next to the former Madison Central High School in downtown Madison and became known as Madison Vocational School. In response to the Great Depression, the Madison Vocational School created non-credit, continuing education courses in artisan crafts, such as millinery, woodworking, and chair-caning. During the 1942–43 academic year, courses met on the third shift to teach skills needed for wartime manufacturing jobs. Starting in 1966, the college offered college-transfer and credit-bearing courses. In 1987, the primary campus shifted to a larger, east-side facility, built near the Truax Field Dane County Regional Airport. In 2012, a state referendum funded physical updates at regional campuses and new construction at this Truax campus.
Nickname change
In 2010 the college began to refer to itself as "Madison College", in part to help end confusion with Milwaukee Area Technical College. The official name of the school remains Madison Area Technical College.
Facilities upgrade
On November 2, 2010, 60 percent of voters supported the Madison College Smart Community Plan, a $133,770,000 plan for new facilities, renovations, and upgrades to meet the increasing demand for education and job training. Projects included in the plan were a Health Education Building, including a public clinic, dental hygiene clinic, and massage therapy clinic; a Protective Service Center; an emergency vehicle operations course; the Truax gateway, which contains a library, student achievement center, and enrollment center; and new classrooms, labs, and learning centers at the regional campuses in Fort Atkinson, Reedsburg, Portage, and Watertown. In response to the need for accessible, quality higher education facilities and community gathering spaces in Madison's most underserved part of the city, Madison College opened its new Goodman South Campus in Fall 2019. This $23 million, state-of-the-art facility was funded largely by private donations.
Academics
The school offers more than 175 associate degrees and technical diploma programs, as well as trade apprenticeships and other certifications. The Liberal Arts transfer program offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Sciences degrees that satisfy the first two years of general studies at some four-year institutions. The University of Wisconsin--Madison is the school's largest transfer partner. Adult continuing education programs offer non-credit professional and personal development classes. In 2014, Madison College began to offer digital badges for learning.
Athletics
The Madison College Wolfpack is a member of the NJCAA Division III for all sports except for Baseball & Softball.
