Need help understanding the difference of college and university

My whole life i always thought uni was just one big building you went to after college but turns out theyre not. Really confused and need help

Reply 1

ann!na

A university is an educational institution which offers a range of subjects. Different buildings at universities have different purposes: faculties (or departments) of different subjects, cafes, accommodation, sports facilities, and even shops.

Depending on which degree you study, you will spend your time in different departments and therefore buildings. Each department is kind of like a school within the university, e.g. ‘Department of Mathematics’ is the school of mathematics at that university where degrees in mathematics would be taught. Some departments cover multiple academic disciplines, e.g. ‘Faculty of Social Sciences’ is a school where degrees in sociology, psychology and often many other subjects are taught. Faculties can have multiple buildings or just one large one. They sometimes have their own library, study spaces and a café.

A university is essentially a collection of schools which specialise in these different degree subjects. University organises your tuition fees, admin and the legal side of things. Faculties organise your actual learning.

Universities come in a few different physical forms:
- Campus based universities where all buildings are within one area, and everything is typically within walking distance. These are usually set on the outskirts of a city or large town. Accommodation is often on this university site, especially for first year.
- City based universities where all buildings are spread across a city, alongside the accommodation.
- Collegiate universities (mostly Oxbridge) which is like a city based university, except your accommodation is tied to a college rather than only university. These colleges aren’t schools and contain: accommodation, canteen, sports facilities, a gym, a library and much more. You don’t need to worry too much about this as most universities are campus or city based.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions :smile: