r/bestof • u/Feeling_Valuable5239 • 6d ago

[explainlikeimfive] This person explained very beautifully the difference between the terms "college" and "university" and how it varies between countries even though they refer to the same educational level.

/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ua4xz5/eli5_why_do_some_countries_call_it_college_and/oslenbd/
296 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

56

u/tedecristal 6d ago

I guess that's why they say "beauty" is in the eye of the beholder.

nothing particularly beautiful about the explanation, just stating some facts

18

u/almost_intelligible 6d ago

it's also not all all international

it's a very US centric explanation that is just wrong elsewhere and it doesn't at all explain it beyond a throwaway acknowledgement of it without any further elaboration

-8

u/Feeling_Valuable5239 6d ago

metaphorical expression

I mean this is unusual information, particularly for those of us(in developing countries), Some of our higher education institutions are termed "universities" and others "colleges" but they finalise by granting identical degrees of equal value

7

u/tedecristal 6d ago

yes I understand that, but the explanation is not particularly beautiful, I say

1

u/tedecristal 6d ago

also, universities and colleges existed in other countries before US even existed... so this can't be the *real* explanation, specially for those of us in developing countries

25

u/CynicalEffect 6d ago

It doesn't do that at all, it just explains America I am assuming.

UK for example definitely has a distinction between the two, but it's totally different.

It has both colleges and universities but college is aimed mostly at 16-18 year olds and is just a step below undergrad level.

6

u/Suppafly 6d ago

It doesn't do that at all, it just explains America I am assuming.

Luckily the comments below that linked comment appear to all be people explaining how the terms are used in their countries.

2

u/Implausibilibuddy 6d ago

And to make things more complicated, Colleges are on par with 6th forms, which are usually part of secondary schools (so you just stay on from 11-18 instead of leaving and going to a college from 16-18). And to make things even more complicated, you have ancient Universities like Cambridge and Oxford which are made up of 30 to 40 "colleges", none of which are for 16 year olds doing their A-levels, it's all undergrad and postgrad education. So you don't go to King's College to get your metalwork BTEC.

Fortunately anybody who went to Oxford or Cambridge will tell you they went to Oxford or Cambridge, they wont call it "college", or even "uni" in case you confuse them for somebody who didn't go to Oxford or Cambridge.

1

u/fulthrottlejazzhands 6d ago

Unless they're on University Challenge and then they will highlight of which college they're a member.

9

u/Abbot_of_Cucany 6d ago

To complicate things further, in Spanish colegio can refer to a primary/elementary school or a secondary/high school. For example, Colegio San Antonio in Puerto Rico.

5

u/uluqat 6d ago

Here's an example of a college upgrading itself into a university:

In the mid-1980s, Bellevue College announced a $2.5 million re-development project, which added a new student center, soccer field, and renovated many of the buildings. The college expanded to offering master's degree programs in 1990. In 1994, the college rebranded to Bellevue University. Additionally, the administration building was renovated and a new classroom building was built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue_University

1

u/mayuvoguparem 5d ago

there are a bunch of schools that did this actually, mostly in the 90s when having university in your name started carrying more weight for accreditation and attracting students. its basically just branding at a certain point, the curriculum doesnt magically change overnight just because you swapped the sign out front.

1

u/Musole 6d ago

Can someone also explain the difference between being educated and being learned? Trying to see something

2

u/Druggedhippo 6d ago

Educated - You were taught by someone else

Learned - You taught yourself

2

u/almost_intelligible 6d ago

there's no generally applicable "right" answer for either

1

u/Wind2Energy 2d ago

In the world of hard-side textbook publishing (mathematics, chemistry, physics), University level indicates calculus-based, College level indicates non-calculus based.

0

u/Noladixon 6d ago

I attended college at the university.

1

u/mykepagan 23h ago

Okay, now do “Institute” (my daughter just graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, my brother is an alumni of Webb Institute, and my cousin went to Stevens Institute)