A college (
Latin: ''collegium'') is an
educational institution
An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...
or a
constituent part of one. A college may be a
degree-awarding
tertiary educational institution, a part of a
collegiate or federal university, an institution offering
vocational education, or a
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
.
In most of the world, a college may be a
high school or secondary school, a college of
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
, a training institution that awards trade qualifications, a higher-education provider that does not have university status (often without its own degree-awarding powers), or a constituent part of a
university. In the
United States, a college may offer
undergraduate programs – either as an independent institution or as the undergraduate program of a university – or it may be a
residential college of a university or a
community college, referring to (primarily public) higher education institutions that aim to provide affordable and accessible education, usually limited to two-year
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
s. The word is generally also used as a synonym for a university in the US. Colleges in countries such as
France,
Belgium, and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
provide
secondary education.
Etymology
The word "college" is from the
Latin verb ''lego, legere, legi, lectum'', "to collect, gather together, pick", plus the preposition ''cum'', "with", thus meaning "selected together". Thus "colleagues" are literally "persons who have been selected to work together". In
ancient Rome a ''
collegium'' was a "body, guild, corporation united in colleagueship; of magistrates, praetors, tribunes, priests, augurs; a political club or trade guild". Thus a college was a form of
corporation or corporate body, an artificial legal person (body/corpus) with its own legal personality, with the capacity to enter into legal contracts, to sue and be sued. In mediaeval England there were colleges of priests, for example in
chantry chapels; modern survivals include the
Royal College of Surgeons in England (originally the Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London), the
College of Arms in London (a body of
heralds enforcing heraldic law), an
electoral college (to elect representatives), etc., all groups of persons "selected in common" to perform a specified function and appointed by a monarch, founder or other person in authority. As for the modern "college of education", it was a body created for that purpose, for example
Eton College was founded in 1440 by
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
of King Henry VI for the constitution of a college ''of Fellows, priests, clerks, choristers, poor scholars, and old poor men, with one master or governor'', whose duty it shall be to instruct these scholars and any others who may resort thither from any part of England in the knowledge of letters, and especially of grammar, without payment".
Overview
Higher education
Within higher education, the term can be used to refer to:
* A constituent part of a
collegiate university, for example
King's College, Cambridge, or of a federal university, for example
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
.
* A
liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
, an independent institution of higher education focusing on undergraduate education, such as
Williams College or
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
.
* A liberal arts division of a university whose undergraduate program does not otherwise follow a liberal arts model, such as the
Yuanpei College at
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
.
* An
institute providing specialised training, such as a college of
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
, for example
Belfast Metropolitan College, a teacher training college, or an art college.
* In the
United States, college is sometimes but rarely a synonym for a research university, such as
Dartmouth College, one of the eight universities in the
Ivy League.
Further education
A
sixth form college or
college of further education is an educational institution in
England,
Wales,
Northern Ireland,
Belize, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
,
Malta,
Norway,
Brunei, or
Southern Africa, among others, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as
A-levels,
BTEC BTEC may refer to:
* Begumgonj Textile Engineering College, a college in Bangladesh
* Biomass Thermal Energy Council, a US advocacy organization
* Business and Technology Education Council, a British body, now part of Edexcel, which awards vocationa ...
, HND or its equivalent and the
International Baccalaureate Diploma, or school-level qualifications such as
GCSEs. In
Singapore and
India, this is known as a
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
. The municipal government of the city of
Paris uses the phrase "sixth form college" as the English name for a
lycée
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
.
Secondary education
In some national education systems,
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s may be called "colleges" or have "college" as part of their title.
In Australia the term "college" is applied to any private or independent (non-government) primary and, especially, secondary school as distinct from a
state school
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
.
Melbourne Grammar School,
Cranbrook School, Sydney and
The King's School, Parramatta are considered colleges.
There has also been a recent trend to rename or create government
secondary schools
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
as "colleges". In the state of
Victoria, some state high schools are referred to as ''secondary colleges'', although the pre-eminent government secondary school for boys in
Melbourne is still named
Melbourne High School. In Western Australia, South Australia and the
Northern Territory, "college" is used in the name of all state high schools built since the late 1990s, and also some older ones. In
New South Wales, some high schools, especially multi-campus schools resulting from mergers, are known as "secondary colleges". In
Queensland some newer schools which accept primary and high school students are styled ''state college'', but state schools offering only secondary education are called "State High School". In
Tasmania and the
Australian Capital Territory, "college" refers to the final two years of high school (years 11 and 12), and the institutions which provide this. In this context, "college" is a system independent of the other years of high school. Here, the expression is a shorter version of ''matriculation college''.
In a number of Canadian cities, many government-run secondary schools are called "collegiates" or "
collegiate institutes" (C.I.), a complicated form of the word "college" which avoids the usual "post-secondary" connotation. This is because these secondary schools have traditionally focused on academic, rather than vocational, subjects and ability levels (for example, collegiates offered Latin while vocational schools offered technical courses). Some private secondary schools (such as
Upper Canada College,
Vancouver College) choose to use the word "college" in their names nevertheless. Some secondary schools elsewhere in the country, particularly ones within the
separate school
In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...
system, may also use the word "college" or "collegiate" in their names.
In New Zealand the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school for ages 13 to 17 and "college" appears as part of the name especially of private or integrated schools. "Colleges" most frequently appear in the North Island, whereas "high schools" are more common in the South Island.
In the Netherlands, "college" is equivalent to
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
(Higher professional education). It is oriented towards professional training with clear occupational outlook, unlike universities which are scientifically oriented.
In South Africa, some secondary schools, especially private schools on the English public school model, have "college" in their title. Thus no less than six of South Africa's Elite Seven high schools call themselves "college" and fit this description. A typical example of this category would be
St John's College.
Private schools that specialize in improving children's marks through intensive focus on examination needs are informally called "cram-colleges".
In
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
the word "college" (known as ''Vidyalaya'' in ''
Sinhala'') normally refers to a secondary school, which usually signifies above the 5th standard. During the British colonial period a limited number of exclusive secondary schools were established based on English public school model (
Royal College Colombo,
S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia,
Trinity College, Kandy) these along with several Catholic schools (
St. Joseph's College, Colombo,
St Anthony's College) traditionally carry their name as colleges. Following the start of free education in 1931 large group of
central colleges were established to educate the rural masses. Since Sri Lanka gained Independence in 1948, many schools that have been established have been named as "college".
Other
As well as an educational institution, the term, in accordance with its etymology, may also refer to any formal group of colleagues set up under statute or regulation; often under a Royal Charter. Examples include an
electoral college, the
College of Arms, a
college of canons
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...
, and the
College of Cardinals. Other collegiate bodies include professional associations, particularly in medicine and allied professions. In the UK these include the
Royal College of Nursing and the
Royal College of Physicians. Examples in the United States include the
American College of Physicians, the
American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913.American College of Surgeons Online "What is the American College of Surgeons?"/ref>
See also
*American College of Physicians
The American College o ...
, and the American College of Dentists. An example in Australia is the
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
College by country
The different ways in which the term "College" is used to describe
educational institution
An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...
s in various regions of the world is listed below:
Americas
Canada
In Canadian English, the term "college" usually refers to a trades school, applied arts/science/technology/business/health school or
community college. These are
post-secondary institutions granting
certificates, diplomas,
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
s and (in some cases)
bachelor's degrees. The French acronym specific to public institutions within
Quebec’s particular system of pre-university and technical education is
CEGEP (''Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel'', "college of general and professional education"). They are
collegiate-level institutions that a student typically enrols in if they wish to continue onto university in the
Quebec education system, or to learn a trade. In
Ontario and
Alberta, there are also institutions that are designated
university colleges, which only grant undergraduate degrees. This is to differentiate between universities, which have both undergraduate and graduate programs and those that do not.
In Canada, there is a strong distinction between "college" and "university". In conversation, one specifically would say either "they are going to university" (i.e., studying for a three- or four-year degree at a university) or "they are going to college" (i.e., studying at a technical/career training).
Usage in a university setting
The term ''college'' also applies to distinct entities that formally act as an affiliated institution of the university, formally referred to as
federated college, or affiliated colleges. A university may also formally include several constituent colleges, forming a
collegiate university. Examples of collegiate universities in Canada include
Trent University, and the
University of Toronto. These types of institutions act independently, maintaining their own endowments, and properties. However, they remain either affiliated, or federated with the overarching university, with the overarching university being the institution that formally grants the degrees. For example,
Trinity College was once an independent institution, but later became federated with the
University of Toronto. Several centralized universities in Canada have mimicked the collegiate university model; although constituent colleges in a centralized university remains under the authority of the central administration. Centralized universities that have adopted the collegiate model to a degree includes the University of British Columbia, with
Green College and
St. John's College; and the
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
, with
Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.
Occasionally, "college" refers to a subject specific faculty within a university that, while distinct, are neither ''federated'' nor ''affiliated''—College of Education, College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Biological Science among others.
The
Royal Military College of Canada is a
military college which trains officers for the
Canadian Armed Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
. The institution is a full-fledged university, with the authority to issue graduate degrees, although it continues to word the term ''college'' in its name. The institution's sister schools,
Royal Military College Saint-Jean also uses the term college in its name, although it academic offering is akin to a CEGEP institution in Quebec. A number of post-secondary
art schools in Canada formerly used the word ''college'' in their names, despite formally being universities. However, most of these institutions were renamed, or re-branded in the early 21st century, omitting the word ''college'' from its name.
Usage in secondary education
The word ''college'' continues to be used in the names public
separate secondary schools in Ontario. A number of
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
s across Canada also use the word ''college'' in its name.
Public
secular school boards in Ontario also refer to their secondary schools as ''
collegiate institutes''. However, usage of the word ''collegiate institute'' varies between school boards. ''Collegiate institute'' is the predominant name for secondary schools in
Lakehead District School Board, and
Toronto District School Board, although most school boards in Ontario use ''collegiate institute'' alongside ''high school'', and ''secondary school'' in the names of their institutions. Similarly, secondary schools in Regina, and Saskatoon are referred to as ''Collegiate''.
Chile
In Chile, the term "college" is usually used in the name of some bilingual schools, like
Santiago College,
Saint George's College etc.
Since 2009 the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile incorporated college as a bachelor's degree, it has a Bachelor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a Bachelor of Social Science and a Bachelor of Arts and Humanities. It has the same system as the American universities, it combines majors and minors. And it let the students continue a higher degree in the same university once finished.
United States
In the United States, there are over 7,021 colleges and universities. A "college" in the US formally denotes a constituent part of a university, but in popular usage, the word "college" is the generic term for any post-secondary undergraduate education. Americans "go to college" after
high school, regardless of whether the specific institution is formally a college or a university. Some students choose to dual-enroll, by taking college classes while still in high school. The word and its derivatives are the standard terms used to describe the institutions and experiences associated with American post-secondary undergraduate education.
Students must pay for college before taking classes. Some borrow the money via loans, and some students fund their educations with cash, scholarships, grants, or some combination of these payment methods. In 2011, the state or federal government subsidized $8,000 to $100,000 for each undergraduate degree. For state-owned schools (called "public" universities), the subsidy was given to the college, with the student benefiting from lower tuition. The state subsidized on average 50% of public university tuition.
Colleges vary in terms of size, degree, and length of stay. Two-year colleges, also known as
junior or
community colleges, usually offer an
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
, and four-year colleges usually offer a
bachelor's degree. Often, these are entirely
undergraduate institutions, although some have
graduate school programs.
Four-year institutions in the U.S. that emphasize a
liberal arts curriculum are known as
liberal arts colleges. Until the 20th century, liberal arts, law, medicine, theology, and divinity were about the only form of higher education available in the United States. These schools have traditionally emphasized instruction at the undergraduate level, although advanced research may still occur at these institutions.
While there is no national standard in the United States, the term "university" primarily designates institutions that provide undergraduate and
graduate education
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
The organization and struc ...
. A university typically has as its core and its largest internal division an undergraduate college teaching a
liberal arts curriculum, also culminating in a
bachelor's degree. What often distinguishes a university is having, in addition, one or more graduate schools engaged in both teaching graduate classes and in research. Often these would be called a School of Law or School of Medicine, (but may also be called a college of law, or a faculty of law). An exception is
Vincennes University,
Indiana, which is styled and chartered as a "university" even though almost all of its academic programs lead only to two-year associate degrees. Some institutions, such as
Dartmouth College and
The College of William & Mary, have retained the term "college" in their names for historical reasons. In one unique case,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
and
Boston University, the former located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and the latter located in Boston, Massachusetts, are completely separate institutions.
Usage of the terms varies among the states. In 1996, for example,
Georgia changed all of its four-year institutions previously designated as colleges to universities, and all of its
vocational technology schools to
technical colleges.
The terms "university" and "college" do not exhaust all possible titles for an American institution of higher education. Other options include "institute" (
Worcester Polytechnic Institute and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology), "academy" (
United States Military Academy), "union" (
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
), "conservatory" (
New England Conservatory
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...
), and "school" (
Juilliard School). In colloquial use, they are still referred to as "college" when referring to their undergraduate studies.
The term ''college'' is also, as in the United Kingdom, used for a constituent semi-autonomous part of a larger university but generally organized on academic rather than residential lines. For example, at many institutions, the undergraduate portion of the university can be briefly referred to as the college (such as The
College of the University of Chicago,
Harvard College at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, or
Columbia College Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America:
Canada
* Columbia College (Alberta), in Calgary
* Columbia College (British Columbia), a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver
* Columbia In ...
at
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
) while at others, such as the
University of California, Berkeley, "colleges" are collections of academic programs and other units that share some common characteristics, mission, or disciplinary focus (the "college of engineering", the "college of nursing", and so forth). There exist other variants for historical reasons, including some uses that exist because of mergers and acquisitions; for example,
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, which was called Trinity College until the 1920s, still calls its main undergraduate subdivision
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
Residential colleges
Some American universities, such as
Princeton,
Rice, and
Yale have established
residential colleges (sometimes, as at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, the first to establish such a system in the 1930s, known as houses) along the lines of Oxford or Cambridge. Unlike the Oxbridge colleges, but similarly to
Durham, these residential colleges are not autonomous legal entities nor are they typically much involved in education itself, being primarily concerned with room, board, and social life. At the
University of Michigan,
University of California, San Diego and the
University of California, Santa Cruz, each residential college teaches its own core writing courses and has its own distinctive set of graduation requirements.
Many U.S. universities have placed increased emphasis on their residential colleges in recent years. This is exemplified by the creation of new colleges at
Ivy League schools such as
Yale University and
Princeton University, and efforts to strengthen the contribution of the residential colleges to student education, including through a 2016 taskforce at Princeton on residential colleges.
Origin of the U.S. usage
The founders of the first institutions of higher education in the United States were graduates of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The small institutions they founded would not have seemed to them like universities – they were tiny and did not offer the higher degrees in medicine and theology. Furthermore, they were not composed of several small colleges. Instead, the new institutions felt like the Oxford and Cambridge colleges they were used to – small communities, housing and feeding their students, with instruction from residential tutors (as in the United Kingdom, described above). When the first students graduated, these "colleges" assumed the right to confer degrees upon them, usually with authority—for example,
The College of William & Mary has a
Royal Charter from the British monarchy allowing it to confer degrees while
Dartmouth College has a charter permitting it to award degrees "as are usually granted in either of the universities, or any other college in our realm of Great Britain."
The leaders of
Harvard College (which granted America's first degrees in 1642) might have thought of their college as the first of many residential colleges that would grow up into a New Cambridge university. However, over time, few new colleges were founded there, and Harvard grew and added higher faculties. Eventually, it changed its title to university, but the term "college" had stuck and "colleges" have arisen across the United States.
In U.S. usage, the word "college" not only embodies a particular type of school, but has historically been used to refer to the general concept of higher education when it is not necessary to specify a school, as in "going to college" or "college savings accounts" offered by banks.
In a survey of more than 2,000 college students in 33 states and 156 different campuses, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found the average student spends as much as $1,200 each year on textbooks and supplies alone. By comparison, the group says that's the equivalent of 39 percent of tuition and fees at a community college, and 14 percent of tuition and fees at a four-year public university.
Morrill Land-Grant Act
In addition to private colleges and universities, the U.S. also has a system of government funded,
public universities. Many were founded under the
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862. A movement had arisen to bring a form of more practical higher education to the masses, as "...many politicians and educators wanted to make it possible for all young Americans to receive some sort of advanced education."
The Morrill Act "...made it possible for the new western states to establish colleges for the citizens."
Its goal was to make higher education more easily accessible to the citizenry of the country, specifically to improve agricultural systems by providing training and scholarship in the production and sales of agricultural products, and to provide formal education in "...agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that seemed practical at the time."
The act was eventually extended to allow all states that had remained with the
Union during the
American Civil War, and eventually all states, to establish such institutions. Most of the colleges established under the Morrill Act have since become full universities, and some are among the elite of the world.
Benefits of college
Selection of a four-year college as compared to a two-year junior college, even by marginal students such as those with a C+ grade average in high school and SAT scores in the mid 800s, increases the probability of graduation and confers substantial economic and social benefits.
Asia
Bangladesh
In
Bangladesh, educational institutions offering higher secondary (
11th
11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables.
Name
"Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...
–
12th grade) education are known as colleges.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the term 'college' is used by tertiary institutions as either part of their names or to refer to a constituent part of the university, such as the colleges in the collegiate
The Chinese University of Hong Kong; or to a residence hall of a university, such as
St. John's College, University of Hong Kong
St. John’s College is an Anglican college affiliated to the University of Hong Kong,Section 3, St. John's College Ordinance (Cap. 1089). which provides accommodation to undergraduates and postgraduates. As the successor of St. John’s Hall ...
. Many older secondary schools have the term 'college' as part of their names.
India
The modern system of education was heavily influenced by the British starting in 1835.
In India, the term "college" is commonly reserved for institutions that offer high school diplomas at year 12 ("''Junior College''", similar to American ''high schools''), and those that offer the
bachelor's degree; some colleges, however, offer programmes up to
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
level. Generally, colleges are located in different parts of a state and all of them are affiliated to a regional university. The colleges offer programmes leading to degrees of that university. Colleges may be either Autonomous or non-autonomous. Autonomous Colleges are empowered to establish their own syllabus, and conduct and assess their own examinations; in non-autonomous colleges, examinations are conducted by the university, at the same time for all colleges under its affiliation. There are several hundred universities and each university has affiliated colleges, often a large number.
The first liberal arts and sciences college in India was "Cottayam College" or the "Syrian College", Kerala in 1815. The First inter linguistic residential education institution in Asia was started at this college. At present it is a Theological seminary which is popularly known as Orthodox Theological Seminary or Old Seminary. After that, CMS College, Kottayam, established in 1817, and the
Presidency College, Kolkata, also 1817, initially known as Hindu College. The first college for the study of Christian theology and ecumenical enquiry was
Serampore College (1818). The first Missionary institution to impart Western style education in India was the
Scottish Church College, Calcutta (1830). The first commerce and economics college in India was
Sydenham College,
Mumbai (1913).
In India a new term has been introduced that is Autonomous Institutes & Colleges. An autonomous Colleges are colleges which need to be affiliated to a certain university. These colleges can conduct their own admission procedure, examination syllabus, fees structure etc. However, at the end of course completion, they cannot issue their own degree or diploma. The final degree or diploma is issued by the affiliated university.
Also, some significant changes can pave way under the NEP (New Education Policy 2020) which may affect the present guidelines for universities and colleges.
Israel
In Israel, any non-university higher-learning facility is called a college. Institutions accredited by the
Council for Higher Education in Israel (CHE) to confer a bachelor's degree are called "Academic Colleges" ( he, מִכְלָלָה, Mikhlala; plural he, מכללות, Mikhlalot). These colleges (at least 4 for 2012) may also offer master's degrees and act as Research facilities. There are also over twenty teacher training colleges or seminaries, most of which may award only a
Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree.
* Academic colleges: Any educational facility that had been approved to offer at least bachelor's degree is entitled by CHE to use the term academic college in its name.
* Engineering academic college: Any academic facility that offer at least bachelor's degree and most of it faculties are providing an Engineering degree and Engineering license.
* Educational academic college: After an educational facility that had been approved for "Teachers seminar" status is then approved to provide a
Bachelor of Education, its name is changed to include "Educational Academic college."
* Technical college: A "Technical college" () is an educational facility that is approved to allow to provide
P.E
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement exploratio ...
degree (הנדסאי) (14'th class) or technician (טכנאי) (13'th class) diploma and licenses.
* Training College: A "Training College" ( or ) is an educational facility that provides basic training allowing a person to receive a working permit in a field such as alternative medicine, cooking, Art, Mechanical, Electrical and other professions. A trainee could receive the right to work in certain professions as apprentice (j. mechanic, j. Electrician etc.). After working in the training field for enough time an apprentice could have a license to operate (Mechanic, Electrician). This educational facility is mostly used to provide basic training for low tech jobs and for job seekers without any training that are provided by the nation's Employment Service (
שירות התעסוקה).
Macau
Following the Portuguese usage, the term "college" (''colégio'') in
Macau has traditionally been used in the names for private (and non-governmental) pre-university educational institutions, which correspond to form one to form six level tiers. Such schools are usually run by the Roman Catholic church or missionaries in Macau. Examples include
Chan Sui Ki Perpetual Help College,
Yuet Wah College, and Sacred Heart Canossian College.
Philippines
In the Philippines, colleges usually refer to institutions of learning that grant degrees but whose scholastic fields are not as diverse as that of a university (
University of Santo Tomas,
University of the Philippines,
Ateneo de Manila University,
De La Salle University
De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...
,
Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private non-sectarian Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines ...
, and
AMA University), such as the
San Beda College which specializes in law,
AMA Computer College whose campuses are spread all over the Philippines which specializes in information and computing technologies, and the
Mapúa Institute of Technology which specializes in engineering, or to component units within universities that do not grant degrees but rather facilitate the instruction of a particular field, such as a College of Science and College of Engineering, among many other colleges of the
University of the Philippines.
A state college may not have the word "college" on its name, but may have several component colleges, or departments. Thus, the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology is a state college by classification.
Usually, the term "college" is also thought of as a hierarchical demarcation between the term "university", and quite a number of colleges seek to be recognized as universities as a sign of improvement in academic standards (
Colegio de San Juan de Letran,
San Beda College), and increase in the diversity of the offered degree programs (called "courses"). For private colleges, this may be done through a survey and evaluation by the Commission on Higher Education and accrediting organizations, as was the case of Urios College which is now the
Fr. Saturnino Urios University
The Father Saturnino Urios University ( lat, Pater Saturnino Urios Universitas; fil, Pamantasang Padre Saturnino Urios), also referred to by its acronym FSUU, is a private Roman Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run ...
. For state colleges, it is usually done by a legislation by the Congress or Senate. In common usage, "going to college" simply means attending school for an undergraduate degree, whether it's from an institution recognized as a college or a university.
When it comes to referring to the level of education, ''college'' is the term more used to be synonymous to tertiary or higher education. A student who is or has studied his/her undergraduate degree at either an institution with ''college'' or ''university'' in its name is considered to be going to or have gone to ''college''.
Singapore
The term "college" in
Singapore is generally only used for pre-university educational institutions called "Junior Colleges", which provide the final two years of secondary education (equivalent to sixth form in British terms or grades 11–12 in the American system). Since 1 January 2005, the term also refers to the three campuses of the
Institute of Technical Education with the introduction of the "collegiate system", in which the three institutions are called
ITE College East,
ITE College Central, and
ITE College West respectively.
The term "university" is used to describe higher-education institutions offering locally conferred degrees. Institutions offering diplomas are called "
polytechnics", while other institutions are often referred to as "institutes" and so forth.
Sri Lanka
There are several professional and vocational institutions that offer post-secondary education without granting degrees that are referred to as "colleges". This includes the
Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...
, the many Technical Colleges and Teaching Colleges.
Turkey
In Turkey, the term "kolej" (college) refers to a private high school, typically preceded by one year of preparatory language education. Notable Turkish colleges include
Robert College
The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...
,
Uskudar American Academy,
American Collegiate Institute and Tarsus American College.
Africa
South Africa
Although the term "college" is hardly used in any context at any university in South Africa, some non-university tertiary institutions call themselves colleges. These include teacher training colleges, business colleges and wildlife management colleges. See:
List of universities in South Africa#Private colleges and universities;
List of post secondary institutions in South Africa.
Zimbabwe
The term college is mainly used by private or independent secondary schools with Advanced Level (Upper 6th formers) and also Polytechnic Colleges which confer diplomas only. A student can complete secondary education (International General Certificate of Secondary Education,
IGCSE) at 16 years and proceed straight to a poly-technical college or they can proceed to Advanced level (16 to 19 years) and obtain a General Certificate of Education (
GCE) certificate which enables them to enroll at a university, provided they have good grades. Alternatively, with lower grades, the GCE certificate holders will have an added advantage over their
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
counterparts if they choose to enroll at a polytechnical college. Some schools in Zimbabwe choose to offer the
International Baccalaureate studies as an alternative to the
IGCSE and GCE.
Europe
Greece
''Kollegio'' (in
Greek Κολλέγιο) refers to the Centers of Post-Lyceum Education (in Greek Κέντρο Μεταλυκειακής Εκπαίδευσης, abbreviated as KEME), which are principally private and belong to the Greek post-secondary education system. Some of them have links to EU or US higher education institutions or accreditation organizations, such as the
NEASC. ''Kollegio'' (or ''Kollegia'' in plural) may also refer to private non-tertiary schools, such as the
Athens College
Athens College ( el, Κολλέγιο(ν) Αθηνών; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF)) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, part of the Hellenic-American Educational ...
.
Ireland
In
Ireland the term "college" is normally used to describe an institution of tertiary education. University students often say they attend "college" rather than "university". Until 1989, no university provided teaching or research directly; they were formally offered by a constituent college of the university.
There are number of secondary education institutions that traditionally used the word "college" in their names: these are either older, private schools (such as
Belvedere College
Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business.
History
Belvedere owes its origin ...
,
Gonzaga College,
Castleknock College, and
St. Michael's College) or what were formerly a particular kind of secondary school. These secondary schools, formerly known as "technical colleges," were renamed "community colleges," but remain secondary schools.
The country's only
ancient university is the
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
. Created during the reign of
Elizabeth I, it is modelled on the collegiate universities of Cambridge and Oxford. However, only one constituent college was ever founded, hence the curious position of
Trinity College Dublin today; although both are usually considered one and the same, the university and college are completely distinct corporate entities with separate and parallel governing structures.
Among more modern foundations, the
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
, founded in 1908, consisted of constituent colleges and recognised colleges until 1997. The former are now referred to as constituent universities – institutions that are essentially universities in their own right. The National University can trace its existence back to 1850 and the creation of the
Queen's University of Ireland
The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the ''Queen's Colleges'' of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university e ...
and the creation of the
Catholic University of Ireland in 1854. From 1880, the degree awarding roles of these two universities was taken over by the
Royal University of Ireland, which remained until the creation of the National University in 1908 and
Queen's University Belfast
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.
The state's two new universities,
Dublin City University and
University of Limerick, were initially
National Institute for Higher Education institutions. These institutions offered university level academic degrees and research from the start of their existence and were awarded university status in 1989 in recognition of this.
Third level technical education in the state has been carried out in the
Institutes of Technology, which were established from the 1970s as Regional Technical Colleges. These institutions have ''delegated authority'' which entitles them to give degrees and diplomas from
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) in their own names.
A number of private colleges exist such as
Dublin Business School, providing undergraduate and postgraduate courses validated by QQI and in some cases by other universities.
Other types of college include colleges of education, such as the
Church of Ireland College of Education. These are specialist institutions, often linked to a university, which provide both undergraduate and postgraduate academic degrees for people who want to train as teachers.
A number of state-funded further education colleges exist – which offer vocational education and training in a range of areas from business studies and
information and communications technology to sports injury therapy. These courses are usually one, two or less often three years in duration and are validated by QQI at Levels 5 or 6, or for the BTEC
Higher National Diploma award, which is a Level 6/7 qualification, validated by
Edexcel
Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board ...
. There are numerous private colleges (particularly in Dublin and Limerick) which offer both further and higher education qualifications. These degrees and diplomas are often certified by foreign universities/international awarding bodies and are aligned to the National Framework of Qualifications at Levels 6, 7 and 8.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands there are 3 main educational routes after high school.
* MBO (middle-level applied education), which is the equivalent of
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
. Designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and criminology or for additional education at another college with more advanced academic material.
* HBO (higher professional education), which is the equivalent of college and has a professional orientation. After HBO (typically 4–6 years), pupils can enroll in a (professional) master's program (1–2 years) or enter the job market. The HBO is taught in vocational universities (hogescholen), of which there are over 40 in the Netherlands, each of which offers a broad variety of programs, with the exception of some that specialize in arts or agriculture. Note that the hogescholen are not allowed to name themselves university in Dutch. This also stretches to English and therefore HBO institutions are known as
universities of applied sciences.
* WO (Scientific education), which is the equivalent to university level education and has an academic orientation.
HBO graduates can be awarded two titles, which are Baccalaureus (bc.) and Ingenieur (ing.). At a WO institution, many more bachelor's and master's titles can be awarded. Bachelor's degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Master's degrees: Master of Arts (MA), Master of Laws (LLM) and Master of Science (MSc). The PhD title is a research degree awarded upon completion and defense of a doctoral thesis.
Portugal
Presently in
Portugal, the term ''colégio'' (college) is normally used as a generic reference to a private (non-government) school that provides from
basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
to
secondary education. Many of the private schools include the term ''colégio'' in their name. Some special public schools – usually of the boarding school type – also include the term in their name, with a notable example being the ''
Colégio Militar'' (Military College). The term ''colégio interno'' (literally "internal college") is used specifically as a generic reference to a
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
.
Until the 19th century, a ''colégio'' was usually a secondary or pre-university school, of public or religious nature, where the students usually lived together. A model for these colleges was the Royal College of Arts and Humanities, founded in
Coimbra by King
John III of Portugal
John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious (Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the thi ...
in 1542.
United Kingdom
Secondary education and further education
Further education (FE) colleges and
sixth form colleges are institutions providing further education to students over 16. Some of these also provide higher education courses (see below). In the context of secondary education, 'college' is used in the names of some private schools, e.g.
Eton College and
Winchester College.
Higher education
In higher education, a college is normally a provider that does not hold university status, although it can also refer to a constituent part of a
collegiate or federal university or a grouping of academic
faculties or departments within a university. Traditionally the distinction between colleges and universities was that colleges did not award degrees while universities did, but this is no longer the case with
NCG having gained taught degree awarding powers (the same as some universities) on behalf of its colleges, and many of the
colleges of the University of London holding full degree awarding powers and being effectively universities. Most colleges, however, do not hold their own degree awarding powers and continue to offer higher education courses that are validated by universities or other institutions that can award degrees.
In England, , over 60% of the higher education providers directly funded by
HEFCE
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engla ...
(208/340) are sixth-form or further education colleges, often termed colleges of further and higher education, along with 17 colleges of the University of London, one
university college, 100 universities, and 14 other providers (six of which use 'college' in their name). Overall, this means over two-thirds of state-supported higher education providers in England are colleges of one form or another. Many private providers are also called colleges, e.g. the
New College of the Humanities and
St Patrick's College, London.
Colleges within universities vary immensely in their responsibilities. The large constituent colleges of the
University of London are effectively universities in their own right; colleges in some universities, including those of the
University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...
and smaller colleges of the
University of London, run their own degree courses but do not award degrees; those at the
University of Roehampton provide accommodation and pastoral care as well as delivering the teaching on university courses; those at
Oxford and
Cambridge deliver some teaching on university courses as well as providing accommodation and pastoral care; and those in
Durham,
Kent,
Lancaster and
York provide accommodation and pastoral care but do not normally participate in formal teaching. The legal status of these colleges also varies widely, with University of London colleges being independent corporations and recognised bodies, Oxbridge colleges, colleges of the
University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and some Durham colleges being independent corporations and listed bodies, most Durham colleges being owned by the university but still listed bodies, and those of other collegiate universities not having formal recognition. When applying for undergraduate courses through
UCAS, University of London colleges are treated as independent providers, colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and UHI are treated as locations within the universities that can be selected by specifying a 'campus code' in addition to selecting the university, and colleges of other universities are not recognised.
The UHI and the
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
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...
(UWTSD) both include further education colleges. However, while the UHI colleges integrate FE and HE provision, UWTSD maintains a separation between the university campuses (Lampeter, Carmarthen and Swansea) and the two colleges (''Coleg Sir Gâr'' and ''Coleg Ceredigion''; n.b. ''coleg'' is
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
for college), which although part of the same group are treated as separate institutions rather than colleges within the university.
A
university college is an independent institution with the power to award taught degrees, but which has not been granted university status. University College is a protected title that can only be used with permission, although note that
University College London,
University College, Oxford and
University College, Durham
, motto_English = Not for ourselves alone
, scarf =
, established =
, principal = Wendy Powers
, vice_principal = Ellen Crabtree
, undergraduates = 698
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are colleges within their respective universities and not university colleges (in the case of UCL holding full degree awarding powers that set it above a university college), while
University College Birmingham is a university in its own right and also not a university college.
Oceania
Australia
In Australia a college may be an institution of tertiary education that is smaller than a university, run independently or as part of a university. Following a reform in the 1980s many of the formerly independent colleges now belong to a larger universities.
Referring to parts of a university, there are ''residential colleges'' which provide residence for students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, called
university colleges
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
. These colleges often provide additional tutorial assistance, and some host
theological study. Many colleges have strong traditions and rituals, so are a combination of dormitory style accommodation and fraternity or sorority culture.
Most technical and further education institutions (
TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
s), which offer certificate and diploma vocational courses, are styled "TAFE colleges" or "Colleges of TAFE".
Some senior high schools, e.g.
Don College in Tasmania, are also referred to as colleges.
New Zealand
The constituent colleges of the former
University of New Zealand (such as Canterbury University College) have become independent universities. Some halls of residence associated with New Zealand universities retain the name of "college", particularly at the
University of Otago (which although brought under the umbrella of the University of New Zealand, already possessed university status and degree awarding powers). The institutions formerly known as "Teacher-training colleges" now style themselves "College of education".
Some universities, such as the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
, have divided their university into constituent administrative "Colleges" – the College of Arts containing departments that teach Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science containing Science departments, and so on. This is largely modelled on the Cambridge model, discussed above.
Like the United Kingdom some professional bodies in New Zealand style themselves as "colleges", for example, the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the
Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
In some parts of the country, secondary school is often referred to as college and the term is used interchangeably with high school. This sometimes confuses people from other parts of New Zealand. But in all parts of the country many secondary schools have "College" in their name, such as
Rangitoto College, New Zealand's largest secondary.
Notes
References
External links
See also
*
Community college
*
Residential college
*
University college
*
Vocational university
*
Madrasa
*
Ashrama (stage)
{{Authority control
Educational stages
Higher education
Types of university or college
*
Youth