Difference between a College & a University?

As any Cal student will tell you, it's because it's a junior grade institution.

 

And that is historically how universities have been understood in the US, too. A university is a collection of colleges. But as noted, things have changed. The term “university” has a marketing advantage over “college” and most American colleges who can have "upgraded" their departments to colleges (schools), added a marketable graduate program or two, and have become "universities."

IOW, in the States it doesn't matter anymore. They are virtually the same thing at this point.

 

True enough, "Boston University" is already taken, but what about "the University of Boston"?

 

The British and the Australians, among others, would forever be confusing them because as far as we are concerned, "X university" is the same as "The University of X".

How common is it to have "X University" and "University of X" being two distinct universities in the US?

 

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my copy of Charles Homer Haskins' _The Rise of the Universities_. Originally, in the Middle Ages (maybe marilynd or agilham could comment), betwixt and between colleges and universities, one was an association of students and the other was an association of professors. Later, the distinction became that the colleges were dormitories at the universities (or so I'm told --- my memory may be getting a bit foggy in my old age).

I don't know whether America's first postsecondary school, John Harvard's College, was ever a division of some UK school (like maybe Cambridge?), but I could easily see how, with distance being an issue, Harvard could easily have started operating quite independently of the mother university quite early, if it ever had one. And that might be the origin of the blurring of the distinction between "colleges" and "universities" in the American millieu.

In the US, a college emphasizes teaching (though I'm sure that if he/she wanted to, a small college professor could write a book/article and get a raise/bonus for so doing) while a university emphasizes research and publications (a university professor should publish one new article every semester/quarter or a new book every three to five years, showing his/her department chair a new chapter every term). Normally, a small college professor will teach four classes per term, while a large university professor will only teach two classes per term to allow for research time. BTW - At some universities, the Teacher of the Year Award may be the kiss of death. At the small college, 25-30 students in a freshman class is a large class and upper division or graduate (if they have a small MA program) classes often only have five students. At a large university, freshman classes often have 200 students, though those freshman classes taught by TAs might only have 25-35 students, upper division classes usually have about 25-30 students, while graduate classes usually have 25 students (if lecture-style) or five students (if seminars).

There are exceptions, however. As noted hereinabove, places like Bryn Mawr College and Boston College offer doctoral programs. If I thought that I could afford to trot off to anywhere for three to five years of full-time study per doctorate at a bricks and mortar institution, Bryn Mawr College would most assuredly be on my short list for a PhD in Mycenaean Archaeology and Boston College would most assuredly be on my short list for a PhD in Political Theory. Also, there are many colleges that have promoted themselves to universities, even though they do not emphasize research or offer doctoral programs.

 

The example that readily comes to mind is the University of Washington (prestigious Pacific 10 state university in Seattle, WA) and Washington University (prestigious private school - I think it might be Catholic - in St. Louis, MO).

 

Oh! And then there's the University of Southern California (prestigious Pacific 10 school - I believe it might be private) and Southern California University (unaccredited correspondence school).

 

There's also the University of California (multi-campus state university system in California, two of which are prestigious Pacific 10 schools) and California University (little state-run school in the city of California, state of Pennsylvania).

 

It undoubtly would happen in the states and it is why a lot of mills will do things of this nature.

 

Bryant College...ahem... I mean University changed its name within the last couple or years for no apparent reason. Their programs are the same as before the miraculous transformation and they remain primarily a business school.
http://www.bryant.edu/bryant/

 

They go back to their roots how about the Boston Jesuit University or Boston Catholic University,or Even the Catholic University of Boston. The real problem of Course is none of these sounds like Boston college and would confuse too many people and therefore it would lose a bit of prestige with the name change.

One reason I don't think that the college and university name fiasco will go away in the US anytime soon is partly because of the traditional names that some of these colleges use and partly because in some states (e.g. Massachusetts) the University system will not allow it(all political), they like the way it is(unless of course they changed it in name only like California because all CSU campuses are not allowed to offer Doctorates).

 

They go back to their roots how about the Boston Jesuit University or Boston Catholic University,or Even the Catholic University of Boston. The real problem of Course is none of these sounds like Boston college and would confuse too many people and therefore it would lose a bit of prestige with the name change.

One reason I don't think that the college and university name fiasco will go away in the US anytime soon is partly because of the traditional names that some of these colleges use and partly because in some states (e.g. Massachusetts) the University system will not allow it(all political), they like the way it is(unless of course they changed it in name only like California because all CSU campuses are not allowed to offer Doctorates).

 

They go back to their roots how about the Boston Jesuit University or Boston Catholic University,or Even the Catholic University of Boston. The real problem of Course is none of these sounds like Boston college and would confuse too many people and therefore it would lose a bit of prestige with the name change.

One reason I don't think that the college and university name fiasco will go away in the US anytime soon is partly because of the traditional names that some of these colleges use and partly because in some states (e.g. Massachusetts) the University system will not allow it(all political), they like the way it is(unless of course they changed it in name only like California because all CSU campuses are not allowed to offer Doctorates).

 

United States: There is no difference between a college and a university!!!!

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The following doctoral granting colleges wouldn't be the same if they switched to university status:

• Boston College
• Dartmouth College
• The College of William and Mary
• Bryn Mawr College

The following university only offers Associate degrees, yet it is not a community college:

• Vincennes University (does NOT offer bachelors, masters or doctorates)

In the United States, there is NO formal difference between a college and a university. The regional accreditors do not have any written rules on the distinction between a college and a university. The notion that universities are supposed to offer doctorates while colleges are supposed to primarily offer undergradute degrees simply is NOT true in the United States, but the notion does hold true for Great Britain.

And no one can prove me wrong on this issue at the RA level.

 

Some states are more restrictive than others in regard to colleges calling themselves universities. My alma mater in New York is telling alumni that they have to offer 2 or 3 doctorates (I forget the exact number) before the state of New York will allow them to become a university. On the other hand, in Pennsylvania, schools like Eastern University don't offer any doctorates as yet.

 

I agree that there are no set rules, however, there are some common practices. The doctorate is not the defining line for distinction as a university. In most cases, states systems use the term university if the campus has multiple colleges. This holds true across most states. Private colleges and universities obviously add a different plan to the mix. Recently a couple of private small colleges in Washington switched their title to university because they discovered international students were more likely to choose universities over colleges. Interestingly, both schools, although small, have multiple colleges on campus.

 

I agree that there are no set rules, however, there are some common practices. The doctorate is not the defining line for distinction as a university. In most cases, states systems use the term university if the campus has multiple colleges. This holds true across most states. Private colleges and universities obviously add a different plan to the mix. Recently a couple of private small colleges in Washington switched their title to university because they discovered international students were more likely to choose universities over colleges. Interestingly, both schools, although small, have multiple colleges on campus.

 

Example College
- School of Law
- School of Medicine
- School of Business

Example University
- College of Law
- College of Medicine
- College of Business

 

If I'm not mistaken, Boston University is Catholic as well.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Boston University is Catholic as well.