Faculty vs. College — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on January 7, 2024
Faculty refers to the teaching staff of an educational institution, while College is an institution of higher learning offering degrees and diplomas.
Difference Between Faculty and College
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Faculty consists of teachers, professors, and academic staff at educational institutions, responsible for delivering education and conducting research. College is an institution where students pursue higher education, often granting degrees.
Faculty members hold various academic ranks and specializations, contributing their expertise to educate students. College, on the other hand, encompasses the entire educational environment including students, facilities, and courses offered.
In a university setting, faculty can also refer to a department or division specializing in a specific field of study. College may represent either an independent institution or a constituent part of a university offering courses in a broad range of subjects.
Faculty plays a crucial role in shaping the academic curriculum and standards of an educational institution. In contrast, a college provides the infrastructure and resources necessary for educational activities and student life.
The success of a college often depends on the quality and reputation of its faculty, as they are pivotal in delivering education and research that define the institution's standing.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Teaching and academic staff at educational institutions
Educational institution offering higher education degrees
Role
Deliver education, conduct research
Provide learning environment, courses, degrees
Composition
Individuals with academic ranks and specializations
Includes students, faculty, facilities, administration
Contextual Use
Can refer to a specific department within a university
Can be independent or part of a university
Relationship to Students
Direct interaction through teaching and mentoring
Broader educational and administrative support
Compare with Definitions
Faculty
Group of teaching staff at an educational institution.
The faculty at the university are renowned for their research.
College
An educational institution offering undergraduate degrees.
She attended a liberal arts college.
Faculty
The inherent powers or capabilities of a person.
He has a remarkable faculty for learning languages.
College
An institution for higher education and research.
The college is known for its excellent science program.
Faculty
A group of people with similar professional skills or interests.
The medical faculty gathered for the conference.
College
An assembly or association of people with common aims.
The electoral college plays a key role in presidential elections.
Faculty
The body of teachers and administrators at a school;
The dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university
College
Part of a university focusing on a specific academic area.
He studied at the College of Engineering.
Faculty
A division within a university dedicated to a specific academic field.
She joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
College
A society of scholars for study or instruction.
The college convened to discuss the new curriculum.
Faculty
The ability or authority to act or decide on one's own.
She has the faculty to make wise decisions.
College
A college (Latin: collegium) is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education, or a secondary school.
Faculty
An inherent mental or physical power
Her critical faculties
The faculty of sight
College
An institution of higher learning that grants the bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science or both.
Faculty
A group of university departments concerned with a major division of knowledge
The Faculty of Arts
The law faculty
College
An undergraduate division or school of a university offering courses and granting degrees in a particular field or group of fields.
Faculty
A licence or authorization from a Church authority
The vicar introduced certain ornaments without the necessary faculty to do so
College
A junior or community college.
Faculty
An inherent power or ability
The faculty of speech.
College
A school offering special instruction in a professional or technical subject
A medical college.
Faculty
A talent or natural ability for something
Has a wonderful faculty for storytelling.
College
The students, faculty, and administration of one of these schools or institutions
New policies adopted by the college.
Faculty
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The teachers and instructors of a school or college, or of one of its divisions, especially those considered permanent, full-time employees.
College
The building, buildings, or grounds where one of these schools or institutions is located
Drove over to the college.
Faculty
One of the divisions of a college or university
The faculty of law.
College
Chiefly British A self-governing society of scholars for study or instruction, incorporated within a university.
Faculty
All of the members of a learned profession
The medical faculty.
College
An institution for secondary education in France and certain other countries that is not supported by the state.
Faculty
Authorization granted by authority; conferred power.
College
A body of persons having a common purpose or shared duties
A college of surgeons.
Faculty
(Archaic) An occupation; a trade.
College
An electoral college.
Faculty
The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff.
College
A body of clerics living together on an endowment.
Faculty
A division of a university.
She transferred from the Faculty of Science to the Faculty of Medicine.
College
(obsolete) A corporate group; a group of colleagues.
Faculty
(Often in the plural): an ability, power, or skill.
He lived until he reached the age of 90 with most of his faculties intact.
College
(in some proper nouns) A group sharing common purposes or goals.
College of Cardinals, College of Surgeons
Faculty
An authority, power, or privilege conferred by a higher authority.
College
(politics) An electoral college.
Faculty
(Church of England) A licence to make alterations to a church.
College
An academic institution.
Faculty
The members of a profession.
College
A specialized division of a university.
College of Engineering
Faculty
Ability to act or perform, whether inborn or cultivated; capacity for any natural function; especially, an original mental power or capacity for any of the well-known classes of mental activity; psychical or soul capacity; capacity for any of the leading kinds of soul activity, as knowledge, feeling, volition; intellectual endowment or gift; power; as, faculties of the mind or the soul.
But know that in the soulAre many lesser faculties that serveReason as chief.
What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty !
College
An institution of higher education teaching undergraduates.
She's still in college
These should be his college years, but he joined the Army.
Faculty
Special mental endowment; characteristic knack.
He had a ready faculty, indeed, of escaping from any topic that agitated his too sensitive and nervous temperament.
College
A university.
Faculty
Power; prerogative or attribute of office.
This DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek.
College
(Canada) A postsecondary institution that offers vocational training and/or associate's degrees.
Faculty
Privilege or permission, granted by favor or indulgence, to do a particular thing; authority; license; dispensation.
The pope . . . granted him a faculty to set him free from his promise.
It had not only faculty to inspect all bishops' dioceses, but to change what laws and statutes they should think fit to alter among the colleges.
College
A non-specialized, semi-autonomous division of a university, with its own faculty, departments, library, etc.
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Balliol College, Oxford
University College, London
Faculty
A body of a men to whom any specific right or privilege is granted; formerly, the graduates in any of the four departments of a university or college (Philosophy, Law, Medicine, or Theology), to whom was granted the right of teaching (profitendi or docendi) in the department in which they had studied; at present, the members of a profession itself; as, the medical faculty; the legal faculty, etc.
College
(UK) An institution of further education at an intermediate level; sixth form.
Faculty
The body of person to whom are intrusted the government and instruction of a college or university, or of one of its departments; the president, professors, and tutors in a college.
College
(UK) An institution for adult education at a basic or intermediate level (teaching those of any age).
Faculty
One of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
College
A high school or secondary school.
Eton College
College
(Australia) A private (non-government) primary or high school.
College
(Australia) A residential hall associated with a university, possibly having its own tutors.
College
(Singapore) A government high school, short for junior college.
College
(in Chile) A bilingual school.
College
A collection, body, or society of persons engaged in common pursuits, or having common duties and interests, and sometimes, by charter, peculiar rights and privileges; as, a college of heralds; a college of electors; a college of bishops.
The college of the cardinals.
Then they made colleges of sufferers; persons who, to secure their inheritance in the world to come, did cut off all their portion in this.
College
A society of scholars or friends of learning, incorporated for study or instruction, esp. in the higher branches of knowledge; as, the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and many American colleges.
College
A building, or number of buildings, used by a college.
College
Fig.: A community.
Thick as the college of the bees in May.
College
The body of faculty and students of a college
College
An institution of higher education created to educate and grant degrees; often a part of a university
College
British slang for prison
College
A complex of buildings in which a college is housed
Common Curiosities
Can faculty exist outside of education?
Yes, faculty can refer to a group with similar professional skills.
What does faculty primarily refer to in education?
Faculty refers to the collective teaching staff at an educational institution.
Can a college be part of a university?
Yes, colleges can be individual entities or part of a university.
Is a college different from a university?
Yes, colleges are often smaller and offer fewer research facilities than universities.
Can faculty also mean a department in a university?
Yes, in some contexts, faculty can refer to a specific academic department.
What is a college in the context of higher education?
A college is an institution that offers undergraduate degrees.
Do colleges offer graduate degrees?
Some colleges offer graduate degrees, but it's more common at universities.
What roles do faculty members usually have?
Faculty members teach, mentor students, and conduct academic research.
Are all faculty members professors?
No, faculty includes various academic ranks, not just professors.
Can faculty be part of college governance?
Yes, faculty often participate in college governance and decision-making.
Do faculty influence the reputation of a college?
Yes, the quality of faculty significantly impacts a college's reputation.
Is college life just about academics?
No, college life also includes extracurricular activities and personal development.
How does the faculty contribute to student success?
Faculty mentor and guide students, playing a key role in their academic success.
What is the role of a college in education?
Colleges provide education, resources, and support for students.
Are college facilities important for education?
Yes, facilities like libraries and labs are crucial for effective learning.
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Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
