University vs. School — What's the Difference?

Offers a wide range of academic fields and graduate studies.

Engages with the local community to support educational needs.

Plays a key role in societal advancement through innovation.

An institution for education at any level.

A tertiary education institution focusing on degree programs and research.

Can refer to primary, secondary, or tertiary education institutions.

Engages in significant research activities.

Often serves as the foundational stage of education.

Often includes multiple colleges or schools within its system.

Focuses on teaching specific subjects or skills.

A large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees

A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsory.

A university (Latin: universitas, 'a whole') is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

An institution for the instruction of children or people under college age.

An institution for higher learning with teaching and research facilities typically including a graduate school and professional schools that award master's degrees and doctorates and an undergraduate division that awards bachelor's degrees.

An institution for instruction in a skill or business

The buildings and grounds of such an institution.

A college or university.

The body of students and faculty of such an institution.

An institution within or associated with a college or university that gives instruction in a specialized field and recommends candidates for degrees.

Institution of higher education (typically accepting students from the age of about 17 or 18, depending on country, but in some exceptional cases able to take younger students) where subjects are studied and researched in depth and degrees are offered.

A division of an educational institution constituting several grades or classes

The universe; the whole.

The student body of an educational institution.

An association, society, guild, or corporation, esp. one capable of having and acquiring property.

The building or group of buildings housing an educational institution.

An institution organized and incorporated for the purpose of imparting instruction, examining students, and otherwise promoting education in the higher branches of literature, science, art, etc., empowered to confer degrees in the several arts and faculties, as in theology, law, medicine, music, etc. A university may exist without having any college connected with it, or it may consist of but one college, or it may comprise an assemblage of colleges established in any place, with professors for instructing students in the sciences and other branches of learning. In modern usage, a university is expected to have both an undergraduate division, granting bachelor's degrees, and a graduate division, granting master's or doctoral degrees, but there are some exceptions. In addition, a modern university typically also supports research by its faculty

The process of being educated formally, especially education constituting a planned series of courses over a number of years

The body of faculty and students at a university

A session of instruction

Establishment where a seat of higher learning is housed, including administrative and living quarters as well as facilities for research and teaching

A group of people, especially philosophers, artists, or writers, whose thought, work, or style demonstrates a common origin or influence or unifying belief

A group of people distinguished by similar manners, customs, or opinions

Close-order drill instructions or exercises for military units or personnel.

(Australian) A group of people gathered together for gambling.

A large group of aquatic animals, especially fish, swimming together; a shoal.

To educate in or as if in a school.

To train or discipline

(Slang) To defeat or put down decisively, especially in a humiliating manner

To swim in or form into a school.

Of or relating to school or education in schools

(North America) An institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution.

(British) An educational institution providing primary and secondary education, prior to tertiary education (college or university).

(UK) At Eton College, a period or session of teaching.

Within a larger educational institution, an organizational unit, such as a department or institute, which is dedicated to a specific subject area.

An art movement, a community of artists.

The followers of a particular doctrine; a particular way of thinking or particular doctrine; a school of thought.

The time during which classes are attended or in session in an educational institution.

The room or hall in English universities where the examinations for degrees and honours are held.

The canons, precepts, or body of opinion or practice, sanctioned by the authority of a particular class or age.

An establishment offering specialized instruction, as for driving, cooking, typing, coding, etc.

(collective) A group of fish or a group of marine mammals such as porpoises, dolphins, or whales.

A multitude.

(transitive) To educate, teach, or train (often, but not necessarily, in a school).

(transitive) To defeat emphatically, to teach an opponent a harsh lesson.

(transitive) To control, or compose, one’s expression.

To form into, or travel in, a school.

A shoal; a multitude; as, a school of fish.

A place for learned intercourse and instruction; an institution for learning; an educational establishment; a place for acquiring knowledge and mental training; as, the school of the prophets.

A place of primary instruction; an establishment for the instruction of children; as, a primary school; a common school; a grammar school.

A session of an institution of instruction.

One of the seminaries for teaching logic, metaphysics, and theology, which were formed in the Middle Ages, and which were characterized by academical disputations and subtilties of reasoning.

The room or hall in English universities where the examinations for degrees and honors are held.

An assemblage of scholars; those who attend upon instruction in a school of any kind; a body of pupils.

The disciples or followers of a teacher; those who hold a common doctrine, or accept the same teachings; a sect or denomination in philosophy, theology, science, medicine, politics, etc.

The canons, precepts, or body of opinion or practice, sanctioned by the authority of a particular class or age; as, he was a gentleman of the old school.

Figuratively, any means of knowledge or discipline; as, the school of experience.

To train in an institution of learning; to educate at a school; to teach.

To tutor; to chide and admonish; to reprove; to subject to systematic discipline; to train.

An educational institution;

A building where young people receive education;

The process of being formally educated at a school;

An educational institution's faculty and students;

The period of instruction in a school; the time period when schools is in session;

A body of creative artists or writers or thinkers linked by a similar style or by similar teachers;

A large group of fish;

Educate in or as if in a school;

Train to be discriminative in taste or judgment;

Swim in or form a large group of fish;

A university is defined by its offering of higher education degree programs, research focus, and academic scholarship.

The primary focus is on providing higher education, conducting research, and granting academic degrees.

Yes, vocational training institutions are considered schools as they provide education focused on specific skills for professions.

Yes, universities often contain multiple schools or colleges, each focusing on a specific area of study.

A school is a more general term for educational institutions at any level, while a university specifically offers tertiary education and degrees.

Schools play a foundational role in educating individuals, supporting societal participation, and meeting the community's educational needs.

A university's curriculum is characterized by a higher degree of specialization and research orientation, whereas school curricula tend to be more generalized and standardized.

It allows for the exploration of ideas, fosters innovation, and promotes the advancement of knowledge without restriction.

Yes, in a broad sense, a university can be considered a type of school, but it specifically refers to higher education.

Including primary (elementary) schools, secondary (middle and high) schools, vocational schools, and tertiary institutions like colleges and universities.

No, only tertiary education institutions, like universities and some colleges, offer degree programs.

Universities contribute through research that drives innovation, influences policy, and supports economic development.

Through international research projects, academic conferences, and student and faculty exchange programs.

Yes, universities are often composed of several 'schools' or 'colleges', each dedicated to different academic disciplines.

University administration often involves a complex governance structure with faculties and academic senates, whereas schools might have a more straightforward administration.