This has been bugging me for years, but I haven't been able to find a good enough answer anywhere.

A Scottish friend told me that the difference between university and college is that you go to uni to get a degree in something (English, Psychology) and you go to college to study for a profession, something... vocational, I guess, like a hairdresser or a plumber. So college is 'lower' than 'university'. Now, that kills me. Why?

Because Americans use the word 'college' to define the place where they study post-high school. At least to my knowledge (which is limited).

As far as I know, university in normal world English would then be a number of... buildings, or a campus with colleges.

Then what the heck is a faculty? On a Croatian site of University of Osijek (a city) translated into English, this is how it's put: University is the whole city's ... thing... of higher education. A faculty would then be a separate building, that focuses on one thing - Faculty of Engeneering, Faculty of Philosophy, etc.

There is only one word to describe this in my language. You say you go to college no matter what you study after high school.

SO what is:
- college
- uni
- faculty

And how do I go around the obviously different meanings in different parts of the world?

ANYTHING you can possibly tell me will be greatly appreciated.

Marina

The American view: No real difference between a college and a university - both will grant you a bachelor's degree. A university will often have several colleges that together make up the university. By the way, we also say "in school" to refer to being in university and even grad school. More than one person in chat has been offended when I've said "are you enjoying school?" because they are at university not school.

For us, the "faculty" are the people who teach you. If you're part of the English faculty in the US, you're teaching others English.