What’s the Difference Between Colleges and Universities?

People use the words “college” and “university” interchangeably to mean any postsecondary school. However, they actually have separate meanings and can lead to different experiences, educations, and costs after high school.

Universities offer more opportunities for research and are generally larger in scope and funding than colleges. Sometimes, a university may have several colleges within it for different fields.

Colleges, on the other hand, are typically smaller and can often offer you a more specialized education in a few fields. You may also get to know your professors more since class sizes are generally smaller.

Check out what makes each institution different. You may end up liking one more than the other.

Colleges include many different higher education institutions, such as:

They generally only offer undergraduate degree and certificate programs and are usually smaller than universities.

Colleges can also appeal to a certain demographic, whether a career specialty, religious demographic, or for men or women. For example, Meredith College is a women-only institution in Raleigh, North Carolina.

There generally aren’t many public four-year colleges. Most public colleges are trade schools and community colleges.

Vocational colleges, also known as trade schools, are institutions where you can learn HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other career skills that require certification. These schools often offer certificates, not associate or bachelor’s degrees.

These fields may lead to well-paying careers and can be relatively recession-proof, unlike some bachelor’s-level jobs.

Community colleges are public two-year schools that are generally more affordable and often in your community. They’re often designed for working adults who commute to classes or want to take online courses on their own time.

Many students use community colleges to start their postsecondary academic careers. They take their general education credits there and then transfer to a four-year college or university for their junior year. However, more community colleges are offering bachelor’s degrees. Also, some states have free community college.

Liberal arts colleges are generally specialty schools that focus on humanities and liberal arts majors, such as English, journalism, dramatic arts, and graphic design. They focus less on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors.

A university is a four-year institution that offers education in STEM, liberal arts, and humanities. They’re usually massive campuses that can host hospitals, labs, centers, and residence halls — resulting in a large living community.

These institutions also specialize in research and can be privately and federally funded to research different fields — most of which students can participate in.

A university also often offers advanced education like master’s and doctoral degree programs where students can also conduct research and potentially even work at the university if they wish to be a professor or researcher after graduation.

If you want to attend a private university, you may have to pay more, but this isn’t always the case.

Some private schools like Princeton University, Harvard University, and Yale University offer a free education to qualifying students with financial need. Other private and public universities also offer extensive financial aid to make college more accessible to lower-income students.

There are also colleges (also known as schools) within universities, like the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business or Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. These colleges serve specific functions — hosting majors, courses, internships, and research all within a specific field.