Do you study in a college and call it a university every now and then?
I study in a university but refer it as school now and then. Why?
Let's read on to find out!
The words college, school, university and institute are very commonly used but a lot of people are confused about the correct usage of these terms.
People use these terms interchangeably however, all of them are very different!
These words could mean different things in different countries too. Now this adds to the confusion that comes with these terms. In this article we shall cover the correct meaning and usage of these words so that you are never confused when you use these terms again.
Institute
An institute is any organization which has a specific or special purpose.
It is generally used to refer to educational organizations. But it's purpose is not supposed to be strictly educational. Like one can call a bank a financial institution or a research lab a research institution. Thus, an institute is a very general word for all bodies which have a particular purpose.
A school, college or a university, each having educational purposes, can be all called educational institutes.
School
A school is an educational institution which provides learning or education to it's students.
A school could refer to different levels of education in different countries.
However, most commonly, the term is used to refer to pre-university level education in most countries. Let's look at what school refers to in different parts of the world.
America- In America, the term school can refer to educational institutes of all levels. It could be elementary school with which a student begins his/her journey. It could also be an institute where a student completes her post graduation. Thus, the term school can have a very varied meaning in the American context.
India- In India, educational institutions providing learning to pre-university students are referred to as schools. A child starts his/her educational journey from a school and completes it by finishing 12th standard. After that a student joins college and starts his/her graduation
Europe- In Europe, the term school is used to refer to primary education which is of duration four to nine years and secondary education which lasts between three and six years. It is generally used to refer to pre-college educational level.
United Kingdom- In UK, school refers to pre college level educational institutes. The school life is divided into pre-school, primary school and secondary school. After this, a student is ready to go to college.
Thus, the term school refers to educational institutes of different educational levels in different countries but the most common reference it to pre-college level educational institutes.
College
The term college refers to an educational institute which provides either higher education or vocational training to students.
It could be an educational institute providing specialized professional training. It mostly refers to degree granting educational institutes. In some countries like UK, Europe, Africa, the term college may refer to high school or secondary school too.
A college may or may not be a part of a university. It could be a private educational institute or a government one.
University
A university is a body which has numerous colleges coming under it. It has complete control over the colleges that come under it. The university could have colleges with different specializations under it.
Thus, on the whole a university can have medical, engineering or even hotel management colleges under it. Let's understand it using an example :
Harvard University
Harvard University is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutes of the world. It is an Ivy league University of the United States. Harvard University has 12 degree granting colleges (commonly referred as schools in this case) under it's umbrella which are as follows:
Harvard Business School.
Harvard College.
Harvard Division of Continuing Education.
Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Harvard Divinity School.
Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Kennedy School
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
John A. Paulson School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences
Thus, even though the schools and colleges under Harvard University have one specific field of study like sciences, engineering or medicine, the University on the whole has a lot of academic diversity to offer.
The university acts like a governing body or an administrator for all the colleges or schools under it.
To sum it all up:
An institute refers to any organization with a purpose.
A school generally refers institutes providing pre-college level education. It could mean different things in different countries though.
A college most commonly refers to an educational institute providing higher education. However, the term could mean a bit different in different countries.
A university is a governing body under whose umbrella numerous colleges or schools come. In all, when do we use what to refer is most commonly dependent on where you are using it and that is why some confusion.
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