What’s the difference between a college and a university?
Firstly, what is the difference between a college and a university in the US? Study USA provides a great answer to this question. Fundamentally, colleges and universities are both educational institutions that offer a four-year bachelor degree program after high school, or secondary school. A college in the US is not a primary or secondary school, which it may be in the Netherlands and other European countries.
There are two-year colleges that are known as ‘community colleges’ or ‘junior colleges’ that offer an associate’s degree, as well as certificates. A student can complete a two year degree at one of these colleges and then transition to a four-year college or university that offers a bachelor’s degree.
Typically, a college offers a bachelor (undergraduate) degree, whilst a university offers both bachelor (undergraduate) and graduate degrees such as masters and doctorates.
What’s the difference between private and public?
The main difference between private and public colleges or universities is in the way they are funded. Most public colleges and universities are established by the state governments and as such they are partly subsidised, which effectively reduces the cost of tuition for students enrolled. This allowed residents of those states an opportunity to receive public college education at a reasonable cost.
Public colleges and universities also tend to be much larger – for example, the largest public university in the US by number of students enrolled is the University of Central Florida with a total enrollment of 63,000 students (2015-2016). Of course, this means class sizes are larger (for instance 200 students may be enrolled in one class). Public universities also tend to offer a wider choice of majors.
Private colleges don’t receive such subsidization from state governments so they rely on money raised from charging tuition and fees to their students as well as private contributions or endowments. Effectively, this means that the cost of tuition is higher for students enrolled. Private colleges also tend to have a smaller enrollment – for example, the smallest private college in the US by number of students enrolled is Pitzer College in California with a total enrollment of just over 1,000 students (2015-2016). Class sizes tend to be smaller, perhaps only 12 or so students per class, meaning students get more personalized attention from their lecturer. Because they are smaller, with fewer staff, private colleges tend to offer fewer variety of majors and may even specialize in a certain field.
What is a liberal arts college?
International students often wonder what is the difference between a liberal arts college and a larger research university.
There is no formal definition for what a liberal arts education is, however it is generally a style of education that aims to impart a broad (liberal) general knowledge and develop general intellectual capacities in the arts. humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. Although many liberal arts colleges are exclusively undergraduate, some also offer graduate programs that lead to a master’s degree or doctoral degree in subjects such as business administration, nursing, medicine, and law. Some other generalisations that distinguish a liberal arts college from a larger research university include:
– smaller class sizes and lower student to faculty ratio
– faculty at liberal arts college typically focus on teaching more than research
– the smaller student classes seem to encourage more participation and personal connection, which some students find more satisfying
– the smaller size also makes it feasible for liberal arts colleges to adopt relatively experimental or divergent approaches to their curriculum
Liberal arts colleges are also usually residential.
Of course, the choice between a liberal arts college and a larger research university really depends on your own personal study goals as well as your personal preferences.
Sample List of Schools:
Academy of Art University – San Francisco, California
Adelphi University – Garden City, New York
American University – Washington, DC
Auburn University – Auburn, Alabama
Augustana College – Rock Island, Illinois
Berkeley College – New York, New York
California State University (East Bay) – Hayward, California
California State University (Fullerton Extension) – Fullerton, California
California State University (Long Beach) – Long Beach, California
College of Charleston – Charleston, South Carolina
Colorado State University – Fort Collins, Colorado
Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
Drew University – Madison, New Jersey
Fisher College – Boston, Massachusetts
Flagler College – St. Augustine, Florida
Florida International University – Miami, Florida
Gannon University – Erie, Pennsylvania
George Mason University – Fairfax, Virginia
Grand Valley State University – Allendale, Michigan
Green Mountain College – Poultney, Vermont
Harvard University – Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hult International Business School – San Francisco, Boston and New York
Illinois Wesleyan University – Bloomington, Illinois
Johnson & Wales University – Providence, Rhode Island
Kansas State University – Manhattan, Kansas
Kent State University – Kent, Ohio
Lewis University – Romeoville, Illinois
Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Loyola University New Orleans – New Orleans, Louisiana
Lyndon State College – Lyndonville, Vermont
Lynn University – Boca Raton, Florida
Manhattanville College – Purchase, New York
Marshall University – Huntington, West Virginia
Menlo College – Atherton, California
Mercy College – New York, New York
Mercyhurst University – Erie, Pennsylvania
Monmouth College – Monmouth, Illinois
Montana State University (Bozeman) – Bozeman, Montana
Murray State University – Murray, Kentucky
Musicians Institute – Hollywood, California
New York Film Academy – New York, New York
Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, Arizona
Northwest Missouri State University – Maryville, Missouri
Ohio University – Athens, Ohio
Oregon State University – Corvallis, Oregon
Pace University – New York, New York
Post University – Waterbury, Connecticut
Saint Louis University – Saint Louis, Missouri
Saint Michael’s College – Colchester, Vermont
San Francisco State University – San Francisco, California
San Jose State University – San Jose, California
Southern New Hampshire University – Manchester, New Hampshire
St. John’s University – Jamaica, New York
State University of New York (SUNY) Alfred State – Alfred, New York
State University of New York (SUNY) Plattsburgh – Plattsburgh, New York
Susquehanna University – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
Tennessee Technological University – Cookeville, Tennessee
University of California (Berkeley Extension) – Berkeley, California
University of California (Irvine Extension) – Irvine, California
University of California (Riverside Extension) – Riverside, California
University of California (Santa Barbara Extension) – Santa Barbara, California
University of Alabama Birmingham – Birmingham, Alabama
University of Central Florida – Orlando, Florida
University of Dayton – Dayton, Ohio
University of Florida English Language Institute – Gainesville, Florida
University of Kansas – Lawrence, Kansas
University of La Verne – La Verne, California
University of Maine – Orono, Maine
University of Missouri, St Louis – St Louis, Missouri
University of North Texas – Denton, Texas
University of Redlands – Redlands, California
University of South Carolina – Columbia, South Carolina
University of South Dakota – Vermillion, South Dakota
University of South Florida – Tampa, Florida
Valencia College – Orlando, Florida
Webster University – Leiden, The Netherlands and
Western Kentucky University – Bowling Green, Kentucky
Wichita State University – Wichita, Kansas
Yale University – New Haven, Connecticut
