which one is the best between college, institute and university?

Question

Can you help me? I don't really understand about the different between college, institute and university. So which one is the best?
Thx =]

Answer 1

None are best. It depends on what your goal is before you can decide where you need to be.

In general, college is for undergraduate work only. Universities have both undergraduate and graduate studies.

From what I understand, an institute has a more narrow focus and exists for a specific purpose (everyone there is working on the same thing).

Answer 2

it's all in a name

Names are regulated and they also say something about the place

School, College and University are legally regulated and defined terms.

School is accredited locally.

College and University is accredited nationally or internationally or regionally

Institute is not always regulated.

In Hollywood the Musicians Institute started out as a non-accredited school, but they couldn't call themselves a school because that has to be certified and legally licensed.

Institute doesn't

You can starte an institute in most states without credntials, certifications, etc.

John Smith Institute of Creative Arts

As long as you don't call yourself a school yu are not illegal

You also can't say you teach things, but you instructor or tutor or mentor

It is possible some Instituted were founded before offering accredited degrees and as such they taught micro skills and awarded certificates. Then they got accredited but kept the name because it had a reputation.

Sometimes they just like the name.

When originally founded Hardvard was a school, because Mass could allow it by state law, but there were no colleges in the US so to be accepted as a legitimate college meant Europe had to credential you

It took a few years for Harvard to get this accreditation and then it became a formal COllege

When Harvard build other buildings and these departments got larger and became separate colleges, the campus because a University which is a collection of Schools and Colleges

A college is a single body.

Everyone goes to the same college for core subjects

Majors come from departments

Colleges are onl accredited for undergraduate degrees and limited graduate degrees

Universities offer far more graduate degrees and many PH D degrees

As a college expands its graduate deparment it can eventually become a University if it so chooses to change its name

Originally CCNY was a 2 year college, then it became a 4 year collegs, now it awards PH D degrees. They might eventually opt to become a university, it's their choice.

A University is accredited regionally, natinally and internationally based on grduate programs, number of individual schools and colleges and advanced doctorate programs.

This isn't to say a college is inferior, it just offers less.

Colleges and Universities may offer identiical numbers of undergraduate degrees. Say 40 each.

Colleges, however, may only offer 10 Masters and maybe 3 Doctorates while the Univesity may offer 30-40 Masters and Doctorates

Institutes often specialize, which makes then less than a college in some respects.

They may not offer a liberal arts program even in undergraduate work. They may not offer English and History majors.

An Institute might specilize in Music or Engineering or Physics and award PH Ds in those fields, but not a BA degree in communcations or art and may not award a Masters in Chemistry only a BS

This is because they specialize and never expanded their dearpements to cover those fields.

They offer only Undergraduate Chemistry, but graduate Physics

Thus as California Institute of the Arts yu might get a PH D in visual media and a MS in Computer Grahics but only a BS in Computer Sciences, if that.

At Cal Institute of Technology you might get a PHD In Astrophyiscs but can't get a BA in Music or Art and certainly won't get an MFA in Art or English

In the field of engineering a college with a PHD program, a University and an Institute might offer equal education

In a field like music an Insittute and University might offer a equal education but the general college may not because they don't have a Masters or PH D Program in music

In a field like Education a college and University might offer the same education, but an Institute can't even provide a BA in that field if it is a technical school.

So those are your limitations

A college is a macro school offering some micro education
An institute is a micro school
A univesity is a cluster of macro and micro schools

Answer 3

First, you're going about the question in the wrong way. What do you want to major and minor in? Look for schools that excel in your area of interest. Consider what is best for YOU. Here is a list of questions that should be addressed, not "What is best?" (too vague!)

What are your undergraduate goals?
Do you want to remain close to home or go further away?
Do you have the funding for a private university?
What are your career goals?
Do you have graduate school in mind?
Are extra-curricular activities important to you? or do you want your next four years to be purely academic?
Do you have a timeline?
Can I transfer easily to another school if needed from your school (or vice versa)?
What does the school's curriculum look like?
Are the class sizes large or small?
What is the teacher to student ratio? (And is this important to me?)
Consider the school's reputation - and is it important to you?
Does the school or certain courses have any links with industry, or work experience programs?
Is there a student support network?


* * * * * * * *

An institute is specialized in fields.

A college is an independent institution of higher learning offering a course of general studies leading to a bachelor's degree.

A university is an institution of higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees; specifically : one made up of an undergraduate division which confers bachelor's degrees and a graduate division which comprises a graduate school and professional schools each of which may confer master's degrees and doctorates. BEWARE - some (public) universities are no more than research labs and you can get a better education elsewhere (imho).

Answer 4

A few Universities are made up of different colleges, eg Oxford and Cambridge, but that really is an anachronism. Basically Universities award degrees as their qualification, Institutes may well be part of universities, but are often awarding scientific or technology degrees only, or may even be a specific type of school, Colleges can also be parts of higher schools as 6th form colleges, meaning those studying for A or S levels with in a specific school. Academies used to offer a single specific type of course, such as dance or music, they may or may not lead to degrees, but usually award a certificate or diploma showing excellence in that field. They all did have specific meanings, but these have become blurred in the last few years and now may well overlap.

Answer 5

In the US, they usually mean:

College: An institution of higher learning that does not offer graduate programs. These are often liberal arts schools. There are exceptions -- like Boston College, which is really a university.

University: An institution of higher learning that offers degrees in several disciplines and offers graduate degrees.

Institute: Usually reserved for an institution of higher learning that specializes in one area. The most famous ones are MIT, Cal Tech and Georgia Tech. But there are also Institutes for other disciplines, like Art.

There is no set rule about which is better. Degrees from colleges like Smith and Amherst are better than a degree from most universities. A degree from MIT or Cal Tech is better than a degree from most colleges and universities. Then again -- Harvard and Princeton are both universities.

Answer 6

It depends what you want to be. Community colleges usually only have diplomas or associate degrees. University's have associates, bachelors, masters, and Doctorate degrees. Im not really sure about an institute though.

Answer 7

institute