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A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions.

In some regions of the world prominent public institutions are highly influential centres of research; many of these universities are ranked among the world's best in the THES - QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In other regions, for instance, Japan, public universities tend to be less competitive and less prestigious than some of national and private universities.

Public universities worldwide

Oceania

Australia

In Australia, the majority of universities are public. There are 38 public universities and four private universities. The private universities are Bond University, the University of Notre Dame Australia (both Australian), and the two foreign universities, Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and Cranfield University (UK), both have campuses in Adelaide.

Australia's public universities are variously grouped:

• Some of the Group of Eight are the oldest and most prestigious public universities in Australia and include the Universities of Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne, New South Wales, Adelaide and Western Australia together with the Australian National University and Monash University. Three were established in the 19th century.
• The Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA) group of universities represent a number of research intensive institutions. They were established in the 1960s and 1970s. The group includes Flinders, La Trobe, James Cook, Griffith, Macquarie, Newcastle and Murdoch Universities.
• The Australian Technology Network (ATN) universities largely grew from the former Institutes of Technology and includes RMIT University, QUT, Curtin University of Technology, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of South Australia. They gained university status in the late 1980s to the early 1990s as a result of the reforms of the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, John Dawkins.

There are also a number of ungrouped universities.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, all universities are public. The oldest (University of Otago) was established by Provincial Ordinance, the next six were established by individual Acts of Parliament, and one (Auckland University of Technology) established by the currently preferred method, an Order-in-Council under the Education Act 1989.

Europe

• In Austria, most of the universities are public. The tuition fees are also regulated by the state and are the same for all universities. Except for some studies, notably medicine, everybody who fulfills the condition of a secondary degree is allowed to attend a public university.

Private universities exist since 1999, but they still need an accreditation by the state.

• In Denmark, almost all universities are public (except the business academy Niels Brock), and public universities (and public high schools) are held in higher esteem than their private counterparts, a notable thing to notice is that all public universities in Denmark are completely tuition-less.

• In the United Kingdom, all universities are funded mostly by government teaching and research grants except for the University of Buckingham and Richmond University. However, unlike in other European countries, the British government does not own the universities' assets and university staff are not civil servants. United Kingdom universities are therefore better described as independent institutions with public funding, rather than public universities per se.

• In France, most of higher education organizations (universities and so-called grandes écoles) are public and charge low tuition fees. Major exceptions are the schools of economic studies such as HEC School of Management.

• In Germany, most higher education institutions are public, too. All German public universities are founded and operated by federal state government entities, all lecturers and professors are public servants. Until 2006, all German public universities were free of tuition fees. However, since then some states adopted tuition fees, others will follow in 2007 or 2008.

• In Greece, all universities are public (with theoretical institutional autonomy) and are completely tuition-free for Greek citizens. Education is a constitutional responsibility of the state and the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. The article of the constitution regarding education was voted by the current parliament as one of those that will be amended by the next elected house of parliament. It is the intention of the current government to allow the establishment of private universities and recognize already existing private colleges as higher education institutions.

• In Ireland, all universities, institutes of technology, colleges of education, the National College of Ireland and some other third-level institutions are public, and the state pays the cost of educating its undergraduates. There are a few private institutions of higher learning but none of them have university status and they are highly specialised.

• In Poland, Universities are divided into a few categories, first division depends on kind of establishing, there are two types: Private universities which are ran by private people, societies or companies, and Public Universities which were made by an Enacting Act of Polish National Parliament.

Higher education in Poland provided by Public Universities is totally free, for everyone, e.g. Polish Citizens, EU-Citizens, and non-EU like Ukrainians, Russians or Japanese, etc. Polish Government pays all money for tuition, and other costs of education of students. There is also Large number of Private Universities, but they are providing lower quality of education, and they need tuition fees be paid. Most of Private Universities are small Diploma Mills, where are studying those people who didn't get to the Public Universities.

It's more difficult to get to the Public University than Private, because knowledge level of candidates in Public Universities is higher. Although lot's of teachers (Professors) from Public Universities, are working at the Private Universities, it's their additional work, this way they gets some extra money.

There are also Private Universities, which are totally free of costs, like John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, which was founded in 1918, and is property of Polish Roman Catholic Church Episcopacy, but Polish Government pays all costs of studying there.

• In Portugal, there are 15 public universities, which include an university institute and a distance university. Higher education in Portugal provided by State-run institutions is not free, as a tuition fee must be paid, although being much lower than the tuition fees of the private ones. The highest tuition fee allowed by law in public universities is 901,23 euros/year (as of 2007).

• In Sweden most universities are public. Education in Sweden is normally free, so there are no tuition fees at any university in Sweden, except for the compulsory Studen Union membership (20 to 40 EUR in 2007)

• In Finland all universities are public. By law, any teaching that leads to a degree has to be provided free of charge to the students.

• In Turkey, many of the most renowned universities are public such as the ?TÜ, Bo?aziçi University and METU, while at the same time a few of the notable universities are private such as Bilkent University.

Central America

In Costa Rica the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Universidad Nacional, the Universidad Estatal a Distancia and the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, all public universities, are among the nations most prestigious institutions. Nevertheless, the UN-sponsored University for Peace and the INCAE Business School (with campuses in Nicaragua and Costa Rica), are to be taken note of.

South America

Argentina

In Argentina the National Universities, also called "Public or State-run Universities", is the name used to refer to all those institutions whose creation arose from the enactment of a National Congress Act, except for those whose creation preceded that of the state itself (as is the case of the National University of Cordoba and the University of Buenos Aires). They lie as Public Law legal entities and their regular operation funding comes from the national state, pursuant to what is set out on the annual national budget act.

National universities hold the largest share of the entire Argentine university system: counting over 80% of the undergraduate population and with campuses stretched throughout to all provinces comprising the national territory, they account for over 50% of the country's scientific research while additionally providing technical assistance to both the public and private sectors. The role played for those was widely important in the Argentine Academic history more over by mentioning the fact that the first Latin American and Argentine Nobel Laureate comes from a National University.

Brazil

UFPR - Federal University of Parana, in Curitiba

The biggest state-wide institutions are sponsored by the Parana State. The southern state is responsible for five major universities and other colleges. The schools are the Ponta Grossa State University (UEPG), Londrina State University (UEL}, Maringa State University (UEM), Parana's Center State University (Unicentro) and Parana's West State University (Unioeste).

Peru

In Peru, the admission test required to enter national (public) universities requires higher scores. The public opinion sees this from the four century old National University of San Marcos, that it has seen as the most respected public education institution in the country. Also many other public universities follow the same rigurosity pattern used at Saint Mark's university, like National Agrarian University and the National University of Engineering.

North America

Canada

In Canada, education is a constitutional responsibility of the individual provinces. Most universities are established and operated under provincial legislation, but a few of the oldest were founded by Royal Charter. All major Canadian universities are publicly-funded but maintain institutional autonomy, with the ability to decide on admission, tuition and governance.

The Group of Thirteen is an organization of the country's thirteen leading research-intensive universities. Additionally, McGill University and the University of Toronto are members of the Association of American Universities, along with sixty public and private institutions in the United States. Private universities in Canada are relatively new and mostly exist at the undergraduate level.

Mexico

In Mexico, the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), sometimes simply known as the "National University of Mexico", was founded in 1551. It is the largest University in the country and one of the largest in the world with over 250,000 students including all its system of high-schools. By percentage, it contributes the most to the country's academic research and cultural development although there are other significant public institutions such as the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), and the federal state-run universities.

United States

Many U.S. public universities began as teacher training institutions and eventually were expanded into comprehensive state universities. One example is the University of North Alabama, formerly Florence State Teachers College, located in Florence, Alabama.

States generally charge higher tuition to out-of-state students, a practice which the United States Supreme Court has deemed constitutional because the state is acting as a market participant providing a service, rather than protecting a fundamental right. The higher fees are based on the theory that students from the state have contributed to subsidizing the university by paying state taxes, while out-of-state students have not. It has never been determined whether the U.S. Constitution would allow the federal government to establish a federal university system; the only federally chartered universities that currently exist are those under the auspices of the U.S. military, such as West Point.

Historically, most of the prestigious universities in the United States have been private. Some public universities are also highly prestigious and increasingly selective; Richard Moll designated such prestigious public universities Public Ivies. At those schools, a vast majority of the departments are consistently highly ranked, allowing the schools to enjoy prestige similar or higher to that of an Ivy League University. State support of public universities has been declining, forcing many public universities to seek private support. Some professional graduate programs in law, business, and medicine rely almost solely on private funding.

There are also a number of public liberal arts colleges.^[1]

The American Public University System is not in fact a public university, but is a for-profit private university geared towards teaching working students in military and civilian public service.

Asia

Bangladesh

Curzon Hall houses the science faculty of the University of Dhaka,Bangladesh

China

In China, nearly all universities and research institutions are public. There are few private undergraduate colleges (mostly engineering schools) sponsored by some private enterprises and the majority of these are not entitled to give bachelor degrees. All important and significant centers for higher education in the country are publicly administered. See List of universities in China for a more comprehensive list.

India

In India, most universities and nearly all research institutions are public. There are some private undergraduate colleges (mostly engineering schools) and the majority of these are affiliated to a public university. Few other private colleges are partially-aided by the state and central governments which results in reduced fees for the students. But all important and significant centers for higher education in the country are publicly administered. See List of universities in India for a more comprehensive list.

Israel

There are eight official universities in Israel. In addition, there are a few dozen colleges and other institutes of higher learning, as well as about a dozen foreign university extensions. All are academically supervised by the Council for Higher Education in Israel (CHEI). The main difference between a university and a college in Israel is that only a university can issue doctorate degrees. Theoretically, a college can apply to the CHEI to upgrade its status to university.

Japan

Gifu Pharmaceutical University; it is one of municipal universities in Japan.

As of April 2006, there were 76 public universities, compared to 87 national and 571 private universities, and 127,872 students attended the schools. The number of the public universities has increased sharply in recent years; in 1980 there were only 34 public universities and in 1993 there were 46. Since July 2003 when the Local Independent Administrative Institutions Law was put into effect, public universities have been allowed to be incorporated.^[3] The average tuition in public universities for 2007 fiscal year was 536,238 yen, the average entrance fee 399,351 yen and the average application fee 17,095 yen.^[4]

Africa

Egypt

In Egypt, Al-Azhar University opened in 975 AD as the second oldest university in the world. It followed by hundreds of universities that opened as public universities such as Cairo University and Ain Shams University where tuition fees are totally subsidized by the [[Egyptian Government.

Kenya

In Kenya, all of the Public Universities are under the control of the Ministry of Education. Students are enrolled after completing the 8-4-4 System of Education and attaining a Mark of C+ and Above. Students are given a loan by the Government through the Higher Education Loan Board (HELB) if they are government sponsored and meet the criteria upon application.They are expected to pay back after completing higher education.

References and footnotes

Footnotes

See also

• Category:Public universities
• State university system
• National university
• Prefectural university

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