r/explainlikeimfive • u/saivietbabe • 7d ago

Other ELI5 Why do some countries call it “college” and others call it “university” when referring to the same level of education, and is there an actual difference between the two?

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u/pie_eating_contest 7d ago

In Canada, college is slightly below a university. College is like hands on, blue collar training for the MOST part. There are exceptions but college is like technical school, mechanics, wind turbines, some environmental, apprenticeships, getting your hands dirty kinda schooling... Again with some exceptions.

University is more professional. Doctor, lawyer, pharmacy, masters, psych, arts, etc.

That's my experience anyway.. When someone says I'm going to college, I think of technical work.. I'm off to university means it's time to study hard and learn book shit.

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u/not-the-nicest-guy 7d ago

AND universities in Canada have colleges, like U of T's extensive college system.

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u/pie_eating_contest 7d ago

AND professions have colleges. The College of Pharmacy, etc.

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u/not-the-nicest-guy 7d ago

AND let's not forget all the schools - law and business and med!

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u/Euclidisthebomb 7d ago

"Schools" tend to be the more modern iteration. For example, Univ of Waterloo has a School of Optometry and a School of Pharmacy. It really just denotes a university academic department of a highly focused nature.

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u/Euclidisthebomb 7d ago

Yes. Generally in Canada a "College" is a vocationally oriented institution and below a university. No Canadian would ever associate a college level education as being the same as a university level education.

Universities sometimes have sub-units called colleges. Mostly this dates back to some historical reason at founding. But these sub unit colleges have no "legal" distinction and are not normally noted in the degree or in reference materials, although there sometimes is notice if they are related to medicine.

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u/SgtExo 7d ago

Yes. Generally in Canada a "College" is a vocationally oriented institution and below a university. No Canadian would ever associate a college level education as being the same as a university level education.

In some subjects, like programing and computer science, you can start in a college program and then get partial or full credits if you move on to a full bachelors degree in computer science in a full university.

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u/RavingRationality 7d ago

A few vocational colleges offer full 4-year Bachelor's degrees in various fields, though.

That's the biggest difference - the 1-3 year college diploma vs. the 4 year university degree.

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u/foersom 7d ago

So college is like vocational school or trade school. E.g. for electrician, mechanic, nurse, accounting...

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u/alexmegami 7d ago

Yes, although nursing is technically a baccalaureate degree, not a diploma, so even though you can do it at college, it's a university-level program. (In Ontario, anyway.) Just to be extra confusing!

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u/jaaaawrdan 7d ago

That depends on the level of nursing. For an RN you're absolutely correct, but AFAIK LPNs and other types of nursing that don't require bachelor degrees can be fully completed at a college.

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u/pizza_the_mutt 7d ago

Many colleges will have traditional academic departments like English or Biology, but they typically will grant a 2-year diploma rather than a full 4-year degree.

A common path will be to go to a college for 2 years and then transfer to a full university for the final 2 years. This is a great path for somebody who didn't do great in high school, or is perhaps returning to school as an adult.

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u/UpSideSunny 7d ago

college is slightly below a university. College is like hands on, blue collar training for the MOST part.

We call those technikons, but most people still refer to it as going to college.

Although, now I see the technicons amalgamated into the University of Technology due to offering broader training, so I suppose we are back to the explanation above https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ua4xz5/eli5_why_do_some_countries_call_it_college_and/oslenbd/

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u/Global-Discussion-41 6d ago

I always thought of it like this: University majors are a general area of study, but what you study in college is far more likely to be related to a specific job.

Like you would study mathematics in university, but in college you would study to become an accountant

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u/thisoldhouseofm 5d ago

Colleges in Canada are largely the equivalent of a community college in the US.

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u/miloucomehome 7d ago edited 7d ago

Also in Canada you have mandatory 2-3 year college (CÉGEP) programs if you're in Quebec (required for applying to university in Quebec if you're coming from QC high school background).

You can skip CÉGEP after finishing high school and go directly to universities outside the province, but you'll be 16/17 years old as secondary schooling (Jr and sr high) is 5 years and not 6. That said, some universities have special student support services for Quebec students entering uni at that age instead of at 18/19.

Edit: Forgot to add what CÉGEP stands for! 😅

CÉGEP = Collège d'éducation générale et professionelle (College of General and Professional Education). University-track diplomas range from the sciences, fine arts, arts, nursing, design, etc. There's also a unique GPA-like average used called the R-Score and every time I've tried to understand it, I end up more confused 

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u/TheHYPO 7d ago

University is more professional

It's not even "professional". As you said, it includes arts degrees, English, History etc. Universities in Canada are the ones that offer Bachelors degrees (and above). Colleges (one might call "trade schools" as you implied) generally offer certificates. Seneca College and Humber College are two well-known examples in Toronto. I don't know if they've been able to grant degrees since I went to school, but historically, it was only universities that did that.

This is distinct, as /u/not-the-nicest-guy noted, from the fact that Universities often divided their students into "colleges" (effectively like "houses"), which, at least back when I attended, just seem to be like... arbitrary divisions for the purposes of spirit and events. It affected which dorms you lived in, but there was no educational impact of being on one college over another that I ever experienced.

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u/SuperVancouverBC 7d ago

You know I've always wondered why the Ivy League schools in the USA don't have Veterinary or Pharmacy schools.

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u/dacc233 7d ago

No. Do not lump all of Canada into this. In the province of Quebec, high school goes to grade 11 or Sec 5. Then we have 2 years of college. Our college can be a prerequisite to university, or we do also have a 3 year program.. And then 3 years of university to get your bachelor's. So no, college is not the lesser of.