What is higher: an academy or a university? What is the difference between an academy and a university?

There is an opinion that the prestige of the diploma directly depends on the status of the university. The more respectable the institution, the better the education and the more popular the diploma. What is higher - an academy or a university? This question is asked by many when choosing an educational institution. After all, most seek to enter the most prestigious universities in the country.

So, let's define what is common between them and what key differences can be distinguished. Then determine what is higher - the academy or university, will not be difficult.

Higher education in any case

And the academy, and the university, and the institute are higher educational institutions (in short, universities). And the university, in turn, is a place where they receive higher education in the profession of interest. In Russia, universities are of two types: public and private. Some of them may have their representations and branches in other localities or even in other countries.

Each of the higher educational institutions (and the academy, and the university, and the institute) has its own charter, which allows it to become an autonomous subject of legal relations. In addition, each institution must become accredited regardless of its status. Only in this case the institution has the right to issue diplomas about graduation to graduates.

Education in all universities can be the following: full (day), evening and correspondence. In addition, in some universities of the country, departments with lecture and distance education began to appear. Terms of training - from three to six years.

The pursuit of status

So, these are common signs that allow an institution to be called a university. But what are the differences? How to understand what is above the academy or university?

After all, a huge variety of educational institutions makes thousands of applicants doubt. Still, the opinion that the status of the university influences the quality and prestige of the diploma is erroneous. The status of an institution affects only how many specialties in various sectors and directions it can master.

As for the differences, first of all it is necessary to understand what the university and academy are. The difference between them becomes clear only in this case.

University of

The university became a state institution in Austria and France. In Russia, this idea was also approved. The very word "university" comes from the word "universal". What by itself implies a comprehensive, all-encompassing. That is, this educational institution covers a wide range of specialties.

By scientific definition, the university is a higher educational institution that conducts training in two areas: the first higher vocational education and the second, that is, the education that is available after graduating from a higher educational institution. The program of study at universities unites a wide range of training directions.

In addition, universities are retraining specialists with an already existing higher education or upgrading the skills of workers.

The university can have both technical and humanitarian faculties. So, one university can produce chemists, lawyers, and musicians simultaneously. Universities have the right to produce senior and junior specialists, bachelors, masters and postgraduates.

Academy

According to legend, the word "academy" appeared even in the time of Plato. By scientific definition, the academy is a higher educational institution, which, like the university, conducts training in the areas of the first higher professional education and postgraduate education. The first school that the philosopher discovered was in a beautiful grove dedicated to the Greek god Akademu. Plato also decided to call his school the name of this god - the academy.

Then what is the difference between the academy and the university? The fact that the academy is trained in one branch of art or science. As a rule, the branch of training is clearly reflected in the name of the institution (for example, the Russian Academy of Arts or the Moscow Academy of Economics and Law).

However, regardless of whether the academy is private or state, there may still be other areas of specialist training that are different from the industry directly mentioned in the title. So, in many Russian academies one can see both legal, economic, and scientific faculties under the wing of one educational institution. It happens that there are universities at the academies. For example, the Academic University at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

What the law says

As you know, in Russia there are three forms of higher education: a university, an institute, an academy. The difference between them is directly spelled out in the Federal Law "On Higher and Post-Graduate Professional Education". Part 9 of Chapter II contains a number of requirements that an institution should meet in order to obtain the status of an academy, university or institution. For this purpose, a special evaluation is carried out on a regular basis. Consequently, any Russian educational institution, which today has the status of a university, institute or academy, can change it. For example, the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which until June 1998 was the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It should be noted that one of the requirements for an educational institution that claims to be a university is the availability of training programs for seven large groups of various specialties. There is no such criterion for academies and institutes. If the educational institution conducts training in less than seven specialties, then the status of the university can not be obtained. Therefore, directly from the law it follows that it is the university that has the highest status. The university is higher than the academy or institute.

What will you choose

But this does not mean that training in the academy or institute will be worse, and the diploma is less prestigious. After all, the most important thing in education is the level of knowledge that students receive, and not the form or status of an institution.

Decide for yourself, what is better - to be a part of one hundred thousand students of the most prestigious university in the country, in which your profession is assigned only 2-3% of teachers, or to study in a small academy in which 90% of teachers are experts in your field? The answer suggests itself.

Therefore, the question that above - the academy or university, you can safely answer that the difference in the quality of education or the prestige of the diploma between them does not exist. Graduates of Russian universities do not have to worry about the status of their school. Despite the fact that according to the legislation the highest rank is occupied by the university, there are no benefits for its graduates. The employer does not care where you studied - at the academy, university or college. Your level of knowledge is important to him. And the status ... It's just a status.