College

This article is about educational colleges. For other uses, see College (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Collage.

Corpus Christi College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in England

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States

Seinäjoki College in Seinäjoki, South Ostrobothnia, Finland, in May 2018

A college (Latin: collegium) is an educational institution. Within tertiary education, it may be a part of a collegiate university, an academic division within a university, or a standalone institution providing undergraduate education (and sometimes awarding academic degrees). It may also be an institution providing further education, vocational education, or secondary education.

In most of the world, a college may be a high school or secondary school, a college of further education, a training institution that awards trade qualifications, a higher-education provider that does not have university status (often without its own degree-awarding powers), or a constituent part of a university. In the United States, a college may offer undergraduate programs – either as an independent institution or as the undergraduate program of a university – or it may be a residential college of a university or a community college, referring to (primarily public) higher-education institution that aim to provide affordable and accessible education, usually limited to two-year associate degrees. The word "college" is also commonly used as a synonym for a university in the United States, and in phrases such as "college students" or "going to college" it is understood to mean any degree granting institution, whether denominated a school, an institute, a college, or a university.

Colleges in countries such as France, Belgium, and Switzerland provide secondary education.