Types of Colleges and Universities
Updated: Feb 29, 2024
Quick… What do the University of California (Santa Cruz), Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo), and San Diego State University have in common? They are all four-year public universities in California.
What about Anaheim University, California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), and Santa Clara University… what do they have in common? They are all four-year private universities in California.
What about Berkeley College? This is a for-profit private college operating in New York and New Jersey, not to be confused with Berklee College of Music in Boston which is a non-profit private college or University of California at Berkeley (often referred to simply as “Berkeley”), a non-profit public university.
To add to the confusion, you may have heard other terms like ‘research university’, ‘commuter school’, ‘liberal arts college’, and ‘junior college’ thrown around to describe post-high school education… what do those terms mean?
First: What is the difference between a College and a University?
A ‘college’ is typically an institution that focuses solely on four-year baccalaureate degrees
A ‘university’ is an institution, usually larger than a college, that in addition to baccalaureate degrees also confers masters and doctoral degrees.
Another point of distinction between the two: typically colleges emphasize teaching while universities emphasize teaching AND research.
This is why Harvard College refers to the undergraduate baccalaureate program while Harvard University references the entire system, inclusive of masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral degree and research programs.
Types of Colleges - Definitions and Using the Right Words
This can get complicated quickly, so I like to simplify the types of colleges as follows:
When making a general reference, the terms ‘college’ and ‘university’ can be used interchangeably
It is fine to say that you are going to ‘college’ or to ‘university’ rather than trying to draw a distinction between the two. Throughout this post I’ll be interchanging the terms.
You could always try the inclusion of both, e.g. “I’m planning to study economics at college or university”. But, sadly, this might still trip up our friends from the UK (and elsewhere) who use ‘college’ to mean that period of study after age 16 (sixth form) where they prepare for exams to then enter university.
When talking about a particular school, be precise by using its full name
E.g. Trinity College is in Hartford, Connecticut while Trinity University is in San Antonio, Texas.
E.g. University of Miami is in Florida while Miami University is in Ohio.
Differentiate Public vs Private
A public university is funded by the USA government. A private university is not.
“Government” can mean state government, (e.g. University of Washington in my home state), federal government (e.g. military academies), federally chartered (e.g. Gallaudet University and Howard University), or an extension of US territories (e.g. the University of Guam).
Common characteristics of public schools: lower cost (typically), larger size, offer more degree options, offer more opportunities to get involved (clubs, organisations, intramural sports, etc…).
Common characteristics of private schools: smaller class sizes, more opportunities to interact with faculty, emphasis on teaching (vs research)
A majority of college students are enrolled at public colleges and universities.
Focus on Non-Profit Schools
Private schools can be either non-profit (the majority case) or for-profit. You most likely want non-profit. (BTW, all public schools are non-profit.)
Commercialisation has been a part of the USA higher education system for hundreds of years, but ‘for-profit’ in this context specifically refers to colleges that exist with the primary purpose of making money.
There are more than 3,000 institutions of higher education in the USA and the vast majority are non-profit, meaning their primary mission is education and/or research and NOT generating and distributing wealth to owners, investors, and shareholders (which sounds a lot more like what a company would do, right?).
Other descriptors you are likely to hear are just qualifiers or sub-categories on the above. For instance, a ‘liberal arts college’ is a private college that emphasises undergraduate studies in the humanities and arts & sciences. A ‘research university’ is a public or private university that is committed to academic research as part of its mission (e.g. generating new knowledge). And so on. One of the best resources I’ve found to understand this jargon is at Inside Higher Ed.
Summary
So what have we learned?
Colleges and universities in the USA are either public (primarily funded by the government) or private (primarily funded by tuition and donors).
The names of colleges and universities can be confusing and shouldn’t be relied upon to understand public vs private and/or non-profit vs profit. It is better to research these to get the facts. Use sites like BigFuture and College Navigator.
Data shows that nearly 75% of all college enrolled students attend a public college or university. Therefore, you are most likely to end up at a public university. They’re often, but not always, the least expensive college option.
You probably want to look at non-profit colleges. Schools with profit as their primary motivator may not have your best interests as their top priority and come with increased risks (both financial and educational). If you are wondering whether or not a school operates for profit, Wikipedia maintains a helpful list.
