What is the difference between an institute and a university and an academy? What is more prestigious: university, academy or institute?

There are several types of institutions in the education system. Not everyone understands the difference between them. For example, those planning to undergo training in any profession are often interested in how a university differs from a university. Let's try to figure this out.

Definition

University- this name hides the combination “higher educational institution”.

University- one of the institutions for higher education.

Comparison

Thus, the difference between a university and a university is that the first concept is a general one, denoting a certain category of institutions, and the second implies a particular case. To explore the issue deeper, let’s take a closer look at what is called a university.

Here we mean any institution that annually graduates specialists with higher education. Training takes place on a public or private basis. In any case, the university must have an officially confirmed right to provide knowledge in professions and award diplomas upon completion of a full four to six year course.

When planning to enroll in such an institution, you should decide on a convenient form of study. Someone has the opportunity to master new material by visiting the institution every day. For others, evening or distance learning is a suitable option. In addition, it is no longer uncommon for classes to be conducted in a more free, distanced form.

Large universities organize their branches in different localities. This increases the accessibility of training. The institutions under discussion have departments and faculties in their structure, as well as preparatory departments for applicants. As a rule, the university has an extensive library. They often publish their own newspaper. The main manager of a higher educational organization is the rector.

The university is a multidisciplinary university with an extensive list of educational programs and conducting research activities. Federal-level facilities are recognized as leading here. Considering the difference between a university and a university, for comparison we should also name other types of institutions providing higher education.

So, a little lower in rank is the institute. It is smaller in scale than a university. In addition, academies occupy their place among the educational organizations under consideration. Each of them is focused on one particular area of activity: economics, art, agriculture or others.

The Russian higher education system includes several thousand educational institutions, each of which is called a university, institute or academy. Each of these titles has its own differences, including the level of the teaching staff, the number of graduate students studying, structure and other features.

History of the division of higher education institutions into institutes and universities

The first higher educational institutions of the Russian Empire had a clear division into classical and applied ones. Classical universities were called exclusively universities (Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kharkov Imperial Universities) and provided students with knowledge in the fields of literature, linguistics, history, mathematics and chemistry. Unlike classical universities, applied educational institutions were called institutes (St. Petersburg and Novocherkassk Polytechnic Institutes) or higher schools (Moscow Imperial Higher School). Institute students studied natural and engineering sciences, medicine and law.

In the Soviet Union, university titles were retained by several of the largest universities (Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University). The remaining existing and newly opened educational institutions were called institutes and provided applied higher education.

Teaching staff

To obtain university status, at least 60% of its teaching staff must have an academic degree. Thus, university students have the opportunity to gain knowledge from practicing scientists who have certain achievements in their field of competence.

Differences in structure

The institute can be either a separate educational institution or be part of a larger university as a structural unit, uniting several faculties whose departments train students in one direction (Engineering and Economics Institute as part of the Kazan Scientific Research Technical University). Universities may not have separate institutes and are divided exclusively into faculties.

Postgraduate training

At a university, for every 100 full-time students there should be at least 4 graduate students, while it is enough to prepare only two out of a hundred people to defend their PhD thesis. In addition, the topics of dissertations of applicants studying at universities involve conducting fundamental scientific research, while dissertations defended at institutes are predominantly of an applied nature.

Trends in the development of higher education institutions

The current state of higher education in Russia is characterized by a transition from a large number of small higher educational institutions to the formation of large educational and research centers that accumulate around themselves the scientific potential of an industry or region. Over the past decade, the number of institutes in the country has decreased significantly, as some of them were abolished, and some became part of larger universities. Consolidation according to the regional principle consists of uniting several universities into Federal Universities (Southern, Far Eastern), and the sectoral principle provides for the creation of National Research Universities on the basis of the country's leading technical universities.

An institute is understood as an educational institution engaged in training, retraining and advanced training of specialists in a specific field of work. In this structure, training can be carried out even in one specific profession. Research work at institutes should be carried out in one or more areas. Moreover, for every 100 students there may be less than a couple of graduate students. The teaching staff of a given educational institution may consist of 25-55% of persons with scientific degrees and academic titles.

In the conditions of the institute there are no strict requirements for the protection of graduate students. However, if at least 25% of specialists have completed their postgraduate studies, the institution has the right to apply for renaming to a university. In case of gross non-compliance with the rules, a reverse transition is not excluded.

Average annual funding for institutes varies from 1.5 to 5 million rubles. Innovative methods of teaching, self-education and research must be included in the educational process of the institute. In some cases, this institution may be part of another educational institution.

University Features

The university is an educational institution that trains specialists in various fields, the number of which is at least 7 specialties. In the conditions of the institution, training, retraining, and raising the level of professionalism of highly qualified specialists, scientific and scientific teaching staff can be carried out.

According to the charter, universities must engage in fundamental and applied research in at least 5 scientific fields. For every hundred students there are at least 4 graduate students. The teaching staff must consist of at least 60% academic degrees and titles.

After completing postgraduate studies at a university, at least 25% of specialists must have completed their defense. Funding for this structure is about 10 million rubles. per year.

At the university, in addition to using innovative teaching methods, there must be access to electronic library resources. An institute may be included in the structure of this educational institution.

Thus, the main differences between the two educational institutions are that an institute is an integral educational unit, while a university may include several institutes. At the institute, specialists are trained in one, sometimes in several areas, at the university - in different areas. Scientific university activities, in contrast to institutes, should develop in different directions.

What is cooler and more prestigious: university, institute or academy? Look for the answer in the article.

Currently, there are three main educational institutions in the field of higher Russian education: institute, academy and university. Are there any differences between them? What is cooler and more prestigious? These questions concern future applicants. Let's figure it out in this article.

What is the difference between an institute and a university, academy, university: what is better, higher, more prestigious, cooler?

The differences between an institute, an academy and a university are minor, but they still exist. Many 11th grade students who are planning to enter a higher education institution do not know what this difference is. The requirements for applicants are the same, diplomas are issued at the end of the study indicating higher education, so what is the difference? What is better, higher, more prestigious and cooler? Here are some similarities and differences:

Important: All these educational institutions are called universities - higher education institutions.

The very first stage of the higher educational process in Russia.
It may be part of a university, or it may be a separate educational institution.
Typically, large Russian universities consist of several institutes. One such institution trains young specialists in one profession or industry.
In such an institution, new methods of certain programs are not developed. This is carried out by professors of the main university to which the institute belongs.

Academy

In order to upgrade the status of an educational institution to an academy, the rector's office of the educational institution must provide certification data on the increase in the number of employees who are engaged in scientific activities. If the commission gives this report a good assessment, then the institute is promoted by one educational level and becomes an academy.
The requirements for educational institutions with the status of “Academy” are in many respects similar to the requirements for institutes.
The difference between an academy and an institute is that in an academy scientific research is covered in a more comprehensive scope. Not only students, but also teachers study new scientific topics and write dissertations.
There are many specialties at the academy, and the field of activity of future specialists is determined by the name of the educational institution: academy agriculture, tourism, transport and so on.

The highest level of education is university. Students receive a multidisciplinary education.
Lawyers and managers, construction managers and tourism specialists, architects and religious scholars can study at the university at the same time.
Faculties, institutes - all this can be part of one university. This is the highest level of development of the university.
An educational institution has the right to have the status of “University” if the majority (60%) of teachers have academic degrees and titles. At the same time, scientific activity must be carried out in more than five different sectors.

Good specialists can be trained by institutes, academies, and universities. It is not the name of the educational institution that is important, but the quality of teaching there. After all, in future work, it is the knowledge and skills of the young specialist that will be valued, and not the name of the university in which he received his education.

What do a university and an institute have in common: a comparison

If everything is clear with the academy and the future specialty and field of activity can be seen in the name, then what do the university and the institute have in common? Here is a comparison and what are the similarities:

Educational category: higher education institutions.
Conducting scientific activities, but at the university it is of a fundamental nature.
Admission of applicants can be based on the results of the Unified State Exam and additional exams at the educational institution.
Students receive specialized education.
The teaching staff conducts scientific activities.
Highly qualified teachers.
Research is being conducted in many areas.
Innovative methods of teaching students.
Good material and technical base for teaching students.

As you can see, there are as many similarities between an institute and a university as there are differences. When choosing a university, you should pay attention to the rating of the educational institution. This aspect suggests that the educational institution has a good quality of teaching and real specialists emerge from its walls - competent and in demand.

University and university: are they the same thing?

You can often hear the name “Univer” from students. It seems that this is a shortened name for the university, which is used in student circles. But this is not so; future specialists can call any higher educational institution in which they study “university”. After all, it’s much easier to say not “I’m going to classes at the academy,” but “I’m going to university.” Therefore, university, university, institute and academy are one and the same.

Do not choose a university by name just because it is called a university. It makes more sense to enroll in a highly rated, highly specialized institute, for example, to become a lawyer, than to study in the same specialty at a technical university.

Video: TOP 10 Best Universities in Russia 2016

Polina’s answer describes the realities of the Russian bureaucracy to a greater extent than the historically established rules for naming scientific organizations. It's simple.

Institute (lat. institutum- establishment, custom, institution) - any organization engaged in any activity. The President of Russia is an institution. The press is an institution. State Astronomical Institute named after. Sternberg (scientific organization) is also an institute. And even the Moscow Aviation Institute (educational organization) is a real institute. Almost all educational institutions in Russia are subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Science and are directly managed by it.

University (lat. universitas- totality, community) - a complex that unites philosophers, scientists of various specialties and their students. Universities are usually independent and self-governing, often closed to police and government officials. Often universities that are not located in large cities become “city-forming enterprises.” In the city of Heidelberg, where I now live, there are 30 thousand university students out of a population of 150 thousand. Usually, it is universities that award doctoral degrees (in Russia, until recently, this was done by a special body of the Ministry of Education and Science), while institutes can be bases for the direct work of scientists, for example, a graduate student at a university is also an employee of the institute.

Therefore, students of real, historically established universities often do not like to be asked how things are at the “institute”. A university is more than an institution. But the bureaucratization of Russian education and its accountability to the Ministry of Education instead of the independence of universities deprives universities of the status that universities usually have in other countries. For example, Academician Sadovnichy, in order to remain the rector of the university longer, sold the independence of the university to Putin - now the president appoints the rector of Moscow State University, and not the academic council.

Academy (from Greek Ἀκαδήμεια) - scientific community, club. Usually associated with a group of scientific institutes, the best scientists from which are accepted into the academy and receive the corresponding academic status from other academicians. Academies often publish scientific journals and can serve as expert communities. Some academies also conduct educational activities. At the same time, in principle, anyone can found an academy, but such academicians will be ridiculed (see RANS). Until recently, the Russian Academy of Sciences directly managed the majority of scientific organizations in Russia, but after the 2013 reform it lost this opportunity, and the institutes began to be managed by FANO officials.