u ‧ ni ‧ ver ‧ si ‧ ty S2 W1 /ˌjuːnəˈvɜːsəti◂, ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəti◂ $ -ɜːr-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural universities ) [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: université , from Medieval Latin universitas , from Late Latin , 'society, association' , from Latin , 'the whole' , from universus ; ⇨ ↑ universe ]
an educational institution at the highest level, where you study for a ↑ degree
at a university
She’s at Cambridge University.
university of
the University of Texas
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ go to university
Her daughter was about to go to university.
▪ be at university British English
We were at university together.
▪ study (something) at a university
She studied law at Edinburgh University.
▪ apply for university
I applied for university without any real idea of what I wanted to do.
▪ start university ( also enter university formal )
Some people take a year off before they start university.
▪ leave university
Students often find work soon after leaving university.
▪ graduate from university (=leave after getting a degree)
She graduated from Liverpool University in 2006.
▪ drop out of university (=leave before finishing your course)
He dropped out of university in order to join a rock band.
■ university + NOUN
▪ a university course
He studied history at school and was now planning to take a university course.
▪ a university student
Thirty years ago 33% of university students were female.
▪ a university graduate (=someone who has completed a university course)
She is a university graduate who speaks three languages.
▪ a university lecturer/professor
Her father was a university lecturer and her mother a teacher.
▪ a university degree
He was a qualified engineer with a university degree.
▪ a university education
I did not have the advantage of a university education.
▪ a university department
one of the oldest university departments in the country
▪ the university campus (=the area of land containing the main buildings of a university)
There were violent protests on university campuses.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ university a place where you can study a subject at a high level to get a degree:
Harvard University
|
About a third of the pupils go on to university.
▪ college in Britain, a place where you can study after you finish secondary school, especially to train for a job. In the US, a place where you can study and get a bachelor’s degree:
She’s at teacher training college.
|
the Royal College of Music
|
Where did you go to college?
▪ community college ( also junior college ) American English a school that students can go to for two years in order to learn a skill or prepare for university:
Community colleges can provide job-specific training.
▪ graduate school a college or university where you can study for a master’s degree or a doctorate, after receiving your first degree:
I taught for a few years, and then went back to graduate school.