College, University or
Institute?
Americans use the
term "college students" to mean students either in colleges or
universities. Not only that, Americans almost never say "going off to
university" or "when I was in university." That sounds British. Instead,
they say "going off to college" and "when I was in
college."
College, university:
what's the difference? We answer that this week in part three of our Foreign
Student Series on American higher education.
Colleges and
universities have many things in common. Both offer undergraduate degrees in
the arts and sciences, for example. And both can help prepare young people to
earn a living.
But many colleges do
not offer graduate studies. Another difference is that universities are
generally bigger. They offer more programs and do more research.
Another place of
higher education, especially in technical areas, is an institute, like the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet even an institute of technology can
offer a wide choice of programs and activities. M.I.T. says that seventy-five
percent of freshmen come there with a strong interest and involvement in the
arts.
Modern universities
developed from those of Europe in the Middle Ages. The word
"university" came from the Latin universitas, describing a group of
people organized for a common purpose.
"College"
came from collegium, a Latin word with a similar meaning. In England, colleges
were formed to provide students with places to live. Usually each group was
studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study.
The first American
universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a
college. This is still true.
A college can also be
a part of a university. For example, Harvard College is the undergraduate part
of Harvard University.
Programs in higher
learning can also be called schools, like a school of engineering or a medical
school within a college or university. You know, learning all these terms is an
education in itself.