College vs. University – How to Use Each Correctly

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What’s the Difference Between University and College?

University and college both refer to types of higher education. However, there are some important distinctions between the two words that mean they are not exactly the same.

University has slightly different connotations in American English and British English. In American English, a university is a degree-granting institution of higher education that has both graduate and undergraduate courses. In British English, a university is also a degree-granting institution of higher education. However, usually UK universities are comprised of multiple colleges that are somewhat autonomous from one another and the university itself.

• Nowadays there are more women than men who attend university.

College can have different definitions in American English and British English. In American English, a college is a degree-granting institution of higher education, like a university. However, colleges usually only offer undergraduate degrees. Most often colleges are also smaller than universities. In British English, a college can be a school within a university, or it can be a training school that one attends prior to going to university.

• Many college students are living away from their parents for the first time in their lives.

Let’s look at a few ways to use these words in your sentences.

Using University in a Sentence

When to use university: University is usually a noun that refers to a school of higher education, but it can also act as an adjective. Typically a university has a undergraduate college of liberal arts, along with several other colleges and graduate programs.

For example:

• Harvard is a very prestigious university. This means that while many students apply, there is still a very low acceptance rate. (noun)
• Many university students struggle to find a good balance between having an enjoyable social life and maintaining their academic duties. (adjective)

In America, students who plan on continuing to study through higher education usually say they are attending college, regardless of whether their actual school is a university or a college. In other words, college acts as the generic term for higher education in the United States.

Using College in a Sentence

When to use college: College usually is a noun but it can also be an adjective. In the United States, it refers to higher education. Specifically, it means a degree-granting institution that students attend after graduating high school. Colleges usually only have undergraduate programs, and can award bachelor degrees or associate degrees. The word college also implies a smaller school, or less prestigious school, than a university. In British English, college can also mean secondary school (similar to an American high school) or something between secondary school and university. To be even more confusing, college can also be part of a university in British English.

For example:

• Oxford University consists of 44 colleges. (noun)
• Community college students often earn their associate degrees at the community college, and then go on to join the workforce or continue their education at a four-year college or university.

College also appears in an idiom:

• the old college try: a person’s best effort
  • Well, we didn’t succeed, but at least we gave it the old college try.

College can also mean an institution that gives instruction in certain vocations.

Remembering University vs. College

Although it is true that many Americans interchange college and university in colloquial speech, it is still important to know the distinction between each.

You can use the fact that university is a longer word than college to remember that universities are usually bigger than colleges.

You can also use the fact that college starts with co, the same first two letters in the word common, to remember that college is more commonly used than university because college is the generic term for higher education in America. It is also more common because college can mean secondary education, post-secondary training, or part of a university in Britain.

Outside Examples

• The body camera video from a Salt Lake City police officer in an emergency room at University of Utah Hospital was rife with tension. –New York Times
• Philippe was interrupted by clapping 55 times, once after citing the high failure rate of university students. –Denver Post
• A New Hampshire university is offering a free semester to college students displaced by Hurricane Harvey, 12 years after it helped a similar group after Hurricane Katrina. –Houston Chronicle
• Swift’s audience is made up of a diverse group of people, but it still tends to be heavily composed of young women. According to Quantcast statistics from 2013, they’re likely to be college students 18 to 24 in age. That is a time when dating and mating and separating is as regular as getting a morning coffee. It is a turbulent, impressionable, painful period when facing conflict and knowing how to deal with it can cause great stress and confusion. –New York Post

Quiz: University vs. College

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct word, either university or college, in the correct form.

• Most __________________ in America have both undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Sometimes __________________ can be synonymous with high school in Britain.
• A person who wants a two-year degree is more likely to go to a community ______________ than a university.

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use university or college? These words have similar meanings in some contexts, but they also have different usages and definitions in other contexts.

• University refers to a larger institution of higher education, usually that had graduate and undergraduate courses, and which may consist of several colleges.
• College refers to a smaller institution of higher education, which in America usually only offers undergraduate courses. In Britain, a college may mean a high school, a school between high school and university, or even a school within a university.

Use the information above to help you remember which word is which.

Answers from Quiz

• universities
• college
• college