Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Wonders Of The World

Wonders of the World
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled over the ages to catalogue the most spectacular man-made constructions and natural things in the world.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable man-made creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be magical.
Many similar lists have been made, including lists for the Medieval World and the Modern World.






Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "Seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. Their wonders included:


The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

See also: Eighth Wonder of the World

Wonders of the Medieval World
Many lists of "wonders of the world" are said to have existed during the Middle Ages, although it is unlikely that these lists originated at that time because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Brewer's refers to them as "later list"suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages.
Many of the structures on these lists were built much earlier than the Medieval Ages, but were well known.These lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages".
Typically representative of the seven greatest wonders of the Medieval world are:

Other sites included on such lists:

Wonders of the modern world
Many lists have been made of the greatest structures built during modern times or of the greatest wonders existing today. Some of the most notable lists are presented below.
American Society of Civil Engineers Golden Gate Bridge The Itaipu hydroelectric dam on the Paraná RiverThe American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of wonders of the modern world:

Wonder

Channel Tunnel
CN Tower
Empire State Building
Golden Gate Bridge
Itaipu Dam
Panama Canal
Isthmus of Panama

New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World
In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for profit. Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and other landmarks; and called the project absurd. To solve
this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate.The results were announced on July 7, 2007 in Benfica's stadium in a big ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal,and are:

Wonders


USA Today's New Seven Wonders

In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of New Seven Wonders as chosen by six judges.The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November24 from viewer feedback.


Wonder ,Location


Seven Natural Wonders of the World

See also: Natural 7 Wonders

Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:

Seven wonders of the underwater world
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was a list drawn up by CEDAM International, an American-based non-profit group for divers, dedicated to ocean preservation and research.
In 1989 CEDAM brought together a panel of marine scientists, including Dr. Eugenie Clark, to pick underwater areas which they considered to be worthy of protection. The results were announced at The National Aquarium in Washington DC by actor Lloyd Bridges, who played in a TV show titled Sea Hunt:


Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
British author Deborah Cadbury wrote Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a book telling the stories of seven great feats of engineering of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2003 the BBC made a seven-part documentary series on the book, with each episode dramatising the construction one of the wonders. The seven industrial wonders are:


Travel wonders of the world
Travel writer Howard Hillman is one of many such writers who has compiled lists of the top man-made and natural tourist travel wonders of the world:

Man-made travel wonders


Natural travel wonders

See Also

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Incredible India

Tourism in India

The Tajmahal

India, located in Asia is Bounded by the Himalayan ranges in the north, surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean). In 2006, about 4 million foreign tourists visited India and spent US$ 8.9 billion.



Tourism by state


Andhra Pradesh

Tourism in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh has a rich cultural heritage and a variety of tourist attractions. The state of Andhra Pradesh comprises scenic hills, forests, beaches and temples. Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrimage centres, one of them being 'Tirupati', the abode of Lord Venkateswara, which is the richest and most visited Hindu temple in India.
The weather in Andhra Pradesh is mostly tropical and the best time to visit is in November through to January. The monsoon season commences in June and ends in September, so travel would not be advisable during this period.

Places to visit:

Hyderabad: Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Salarjung Museum, Hussain Sagar, Lumbini Park, Snow world, Ramoji Film city, Water world, Hitech city, Golconda, Paigah tombs, Falaknuma palace. Visakhapatnam: Kailashagiri, R.K.Beach, Rushikonda beach, Simhachalam temple, Vizag-Bhimili Beach Road, Bojjannakonda, Thatlakonda, Appikonda Beach, Yarada Beach, Bhimili Beach, Gangavaram Beach, Borra Caves, Araku valley, Tenneti Beach Park, Ross hill church, Dolphin's nose mountain, Submarine Museum, Aquarium, Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens
Tirupati: Lord venkateshwara temple, Tirumala, Deer Sanctury, Horsely Hills, Sri Kalahasti Temple, Lepakshi
Sri Prasanti Nilayam: Abode of puttaparthi Sai Baba Vijayawada: Kanakadurga Temple, Gandhi hill, Prakasham Barrage, Krishna River bank, Mangalagiri Temple


Assam

Tourism in Assam
Assam is the central state in the North-East Region of India and serves as the gateway to the rest of the Seven Sister States. Assam boasts of famous wildlife preserves – the Kaziranga National Park (pictured) and the Manas National Park, largest river island Majuli and tea-estates dating back to time of British Raj. The weather is mostly sub-tropical. Assam experiences the Indian monsoon and has one of the highest forest densities in India. The winter months are the best time to visit.
It has a rich cultural heritage going back to the Ahom Dynasty which governed the region for many centuries before the British occupation. Other notable features include the Brahmaputra River, the mystery of the bird suicides in Jatinga, numerous temples including Kamakhya of Tantric sect, ruins of palaces, etc.

Delhi
Tourism in Delhi
Delhi is the capital of India. A fine blend of old and new, ancient and modern in every stream of life is the soul of Delhi. A melting pot of cultures, religions and castes makes Delhi a diverse place. Delhi has been the capital of India from the mythological days. The rulers left behind their trade marks in the architecture. Delhi currently has many renowned monuments and landmarks such as the Tughlaqabad fort and the Qutub Minar, the Jama Masjid and the Bahá'í Lotus temple, the Humayun's tomb and the Red Fort, and India Gate and the Magnificent President's house (Rashtrapati Bhavan). Delhi is famous for its wide roads and crisp winters.
One of the few places in India where colours of nature changes with the seasons. From Kerala to Kashmir and from Gujarat to Assam all the mouth watering delicacies and shopping goods are found in Delhi. The cosmopolitan nature of the city has only added to the beauty and glory of it. Big gardens, wide roads, ancient structures, and power of politics is what Delhi is all about. Delhi is popularly known for its monuments. Most of them which are built by the Mughal Emperors.


Goa

Tourism in Goa
The state of Goa is situated on the West Coast of India, between the borders of Maharashtra and Karnataka and is better known to the world as the former Portuguese enclave on Indian soil. With the rule of the Portuguese for over 450 years and the consequential influence of the Latin culture, Goa presents a somewhat different picture to the foreign visitor than any other part of the country. The state of Goa is famous for its excellent beaches, churches, and Hindu temples. The Bom Jesus cathedral, Mangueshi Temple and Shantadurga are famous attractions in Goa.


Himachal Pradesh

Home to the some of the most popular Hill Stations, and home also to some exquisite alpine & Trans-Himalayan destinations, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is a major product in the Indian tourism market. Himachal is famous for its sweet apples.
Among the major crowd pullers in Himachal Pradesh are: Shimla, the states capital, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Kasauli.

Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu is noted for its landscape, ancient temples, Hindu shrines, castles, gardens and forts. Hindu holy shrines of Amarnath and Vaishno Devi attracts tens of thousands of Hindu devotees every year. Jammu's natural landscape has made it one of the most popular destinations[citation needed] for adventure tourism in south Asia. Jammu's historic monuments feature a unique blend of Islamic and Hindu architecture styles.
Tourism forms an integral part of the Kashmiri economy. Often dubbed "Paradise on Earth", Kashmir's mountainous landscape has attracted tourists for centuries. Notable places are Dal Lake, Srinagar Phalagam, Gulmarg, Yeusmarg and Mughal Gardens etc.


Karnataka

Tourism in Karnataka
Karnataka,the eighth largest state in India, is a veritable treasure trove of tourist delights. By virtue of its varied geography and long and rich history, Karnataka boasts of numerous spots of interest for tourists. Karnataka has been ranked as fourth most popular destination for tourism among states of India. With its 507 out of the 3600 centrally protected monuments, Karnataka has the second highest number of protected monuments in India, next only to Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka is famous for its waterfalls. Jog falls of Shimoga District is one of the highest waterfalls in Asia. This state has 21 wildlife sanctuaries and five National parks and is home to more than 500 species of birds.
Karnataka is a rock climbers paradise. Yana in Uttara Kannada, Ramnagara near Bangalore district, Shivagange in Tumkur district and tekal in Kolar district are a rock climbers heaven.



Kerala

Tourism in Kerala
Kerala is a state on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India. Nicknamed as one of the "10 paradises of the world" by the National Geographic traveller, Kerala is famous especially for its ecotourism initiatives. Its unique culture and traditions, coupled with its varied demography, has made it one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Growing at a rate of 13.31%, the tourism industry significantly contributes to the state's economy. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, the government agency that oversees the tourism prospects of the state, has adopted the brand "God's Own Country" for its campaigns. The slogan holds global Superbrand status.[citation needed] Kerala is gifted with 42 rivers running as the life stream of the culture. This state has a variety of land scapes which can attract the tourists such as coastal regions,backwaters,Nilgiri mountaing on one side,malabar highlands,and so on.

Madhya Pradesh

Tourism in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh is called the "Heart of India" only because of its location in the centre of the country. It has been home to the cultural heritage of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam. Innumerable monuments, exquisitely carved temples, stupas, forts and palaces are dotted all over the State. Madhya Pradesh is also known as Tiger State because of tiger population in MP (Madhya Pradesh). Many Famous national parks like kanha, banthavgadh and pench are located in MP. The natural beauty of Madhya Pradesh is equally varied. Consisting largely of a plateau, the State has everything. Spectacular mountain ranges, meandering rivers and miles and miles of dense forests offering a unique and exciting panorama of wildlife in sylvan surroundings.

Maharashtra

Tourism in Maharashtra
Unlike most other states in India, Maharashtra boasts of a large number of popular and revered religious venues that are heavily frequented by locals as well as out-of-state visitors. It also boasts of the City of Mumbai with its Bollywood fame, ancient cave temples at Ajanta and Ellora, the Tuljabhavani temple at Tuljapur, the Mahalakshmi temple in Kolhapur, the city of Pune the seat of the Maratha empire, the fantastic Ganesh chaturthi celebrations and much more.


Orissa
Orissa has been a preferred destination from ancient days for people who have an interest in spirituality, religion, culture, art and natural beauty. Ancient and medieval architecture, pristine sea beaches, the classical and ethnic dance forms and a variety of festivals. Orissa has kept the religion of Buddhism alive. Rock-edicts that have challenged time stand huge and over-powering by the banks of the river Daya. The torch of Buddhism is still ablaze in the sublime triangle at Udayagiri, Lalitgiri & Ratanagiri, on the banks of river Birupa. Precious fragments of a glorious past come alive in the shape of stupas, rock-cut caves, rock-edicts, excavated monasteries, viharas, chaityas and sacred relics in caskets and the Rock-edicts of Ashoka.Orissa is the home for various tribal communities who have contributed uniquely to the multicultural and multilingual character of the state. Their handicrafts, different dance forms, jungle products and their unique life style blended with their healing practices have got world wide attention.


Punjab


Tourism in Punjab (India)
Punjab is one of India's most beautiful states. The state of Punjab is renowned for its cuisine, culture and history. Punjab has a vast public transportation and communication network. Some of the main cities in Punjab are Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Ludhiana. Punjab also has a rich religious history incorporating Sikhism and Hinduism. Tourism in Punjab is principally suited for the tourists interested in culture, ancient civilization, spirituality and epic history. Some of the villages in Punjab are also a must see for the person who wants to see the true Punjab, with their beauitful traditional Indian homes, farms and temples, this is a must see for any visitor that goes to Punjab.

Rajasthan
Laxmi Temple in JaipurRajasthan, literally meaning "the land of the kings", is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Northern India. The vast sand dunes of the Thar Desert attract millions of tourists from around the globe every year.
Attractions of Rajasthan Jaipur - The capital of Rajasthan, famous for its rich history and royal architecture Jodhpur - fortress-city at the edge of the Thar Desert, famous for its blue homes and architecture Udaipur - Known as the "Venice" of India Jaisalmer - famous for its golden fortress Barmer - Barmer and surrounding areas offer perfect picture of typical Rajasthani villages. Bikaner - famous for its medieval history as a trade route outpost Mount Abu Pushkar-It has the only Brahma temple in the world .




Sikkim

The Himalayan mountains in Sikkim.Originally known as Suk-Heem, which in the local language means "peaceful home", Sikkim was an independent kingdom till the year1974, when it became a part of the Republic Of India. The capital of Sikkim is Gangtok, located approximately 185 kilometers from New Jalpaiguri, the nearest railway station to Sikkim. Although, an airport is under construction at Dekiling in East Sikkim, the nearest airport to Sikkim would be Bagdogra. Sikkim is considered as the land of Orchids and mystic cultures and colorful traditions. Sikkim is well known among trekkers and adventure lovers, as West Sikkim has a lot to give them. Places near Sikkim include Darjeeling also known as the Queen of hills and Kalimpong. Darjeeling, other than its world famous "Darjeeling tea" is also famous for its refined "Prep schools" founded during the British Raj. Kalimpong is also famous for its Flora cultivation and is home to many internationally known Nurseries.



Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu or "the land of Tamil" is a beautiful state nestled in the southern Indian peninsula, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal and the deep blue Indian Ocean. Many great rulers including the Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and the Vijayanagara Empire ruled over parts of Tamil Nadu. The state is known for its cultural heritage and temple architecture .
Tamil literature is amongst the oldest in India. Much of the ancient culture of Tamil Nadu is still alive. We have Carnatic music, an Indian classical tradition. Bharatha Natyam is its twin dance form, always accompanied by this music and the rich tradition of folk music continues to inspire people.
Attractions:
Chennai - Capital of Tamilnadu and also India's fourth largest metropolitan Coimbatore - Industrial centre, Temples, Kovai kutralam waterfalls Mahabalipuram - World famous for its shore temples Chidambaram - Lord Shiva in the enthralling form of a Cosmic Dance. Kanchipuram - The Golden City of a thousand temples, Handloom Silk Kanyakumari - Southernmost tip of India, where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet Ootacamund - Queen of southern hill resorts of India Madurai - Oldest cities of southern India Rameswaram - Well-known pilgrimage in India Thanjavur - The rice bowl of Tamil Nadu Tiruchirapalli - City on the banks of river Cauvery Auroville - International Utopian city being built, Aurobindo Ashram Associations. Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary - Wildlife sanctuary Kodaikanal- King of southern hill resorts of India .



Uttarakhand
Winter in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.Uttaranchal is the 26th state of the Republic of India. Blessed with magnificent glaciers, majestic snow-clad mountains, gigantic and ecstatic peaks, valley of flowers, skiing slopes and dense forests, this Abode of Gods includes many shrines and places of pilgrimage. Char-dhams, the four most sacred and revered Hindu temples: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are nestled in the Mighty Himalayas. Haridwar which means Gateway to God is the only place on the plains.
A picturesque state, with a breathtaking panoramic view of Himalayas, Uttarakhand promises its tourists a visit full of fun and unforgettable moments. It contains the most fascinating and beautiful part of the Himalayas and provide watershed for Gangetic River System spanning 300Km from Satluj in the west to Kali river in the east. Nanda Devi (25640 Ft) is the second highest peak in India after Kanchenjunga (28160 Ft). Dunagiri, Neelkanth, Chukhamba, Panchachuli, Trisul are other peaks above 23000 Ft. It is considered abode of Devtas, Yakashyas, Kinners, Fairies and Sages. They all are present here on glittering peaks, roaring rivers, beautiful hills slopes and valleys in one or another form.
It boasts of some old hill-stations developed during British era like Mussoorie, Almora and Nainital.
GlaciersPindari Glacier, Milam Glacier, Gangotri Glacier, Bunder Punch Glacier, Khatling Glacier, Doonagiri Glacier, Dokrani Glacier, Kaphini Glacier, Ralam Glacier Wildlife ReservesCorbett National Park, Rajaji National Park, Asan Conservation Reserve, Nanda Devi National Park, Govind Wildlife Sanctury, Ascot Sancury, Valley of Flowers Adventure SportsSkiing at Mundali, Auli, Dayara Bagyal and Munsiyari. Trekking at Mussoorie, Uttarkashi, Joshimath, Munsiyari, Chowkori, Pauri, Almora, Nainital.


Uttar Pradesh
Temple in VaranasiSituated in the northern part of India, Uttar Pradesh is important with its wealth of monuments and religious fervour. Geographically, Uttar Pradesh is very diverse, with Himalayan foothills in the extreme north, the Gangetic Plain in the centre, and the Vindhya Mountain Range towards the South. It is also home of India's most visited site, the Taj Mahal, and Hinduism's holiest city, Varanasi. The most populous state of the Indian Union also has a rich cultural heritage, and at the heart of North India, Uttar Pradesh has much to offer.
Places of interest include Varanasi, Agra, Mathura, Jhansi, Prayag, Sarnath, Ayodhya, Dudhwa National Park.


West Bengal
Victoria Memorial in KolkataKolkata, one of the many cities in the state of West Bengal has been nicknamed the City of Palaces. This comes from the numerous palatial mansions built all over the city. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, the layout of much of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins to European styles and tastes imported by the British and, to a much lesser extent, the Portuguese and French. The buildings were designed and inspired by the tastes of the English gentleman around and the aspiring Bengali Babu (literally, a nouveau riche Bengali who aspired to cultivation of English etiquette, manners and custom, as such practices were favourable to monetary gains from the British). Today, many of these structures are in various stages of decay. Some of the major buildings of this period are well maintained and several buildings have been declared as heritage structures.
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Incredible India

Wildlife of India

India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, hosts significant biodiversity; it is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species.[1] Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, also exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemicIndia's forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded the Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.
Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, to which India originally belonged. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with, the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic changes 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya. As a result, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. Notable endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and carmine Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated threatened species.These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.
In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; further federal protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 500 wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 14 biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 25 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.
Common name for wilderness in India is Jungle which was adopted by the British colonialists to the English language. The word has been also made famous in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

Fauna
Fauna of India
India is home to several well known large mammals including the Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard and Indian Rhinoceros, often engrained culturally and religiously often being associated with deities. Other well known large Indian mammals include ungulates such as the Water Buffalo, Nilgai, Gaur and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog family such as the Indian Wolf, Bengal Fox, Golden Jackal and the Dhole or Wild Dogs are also widely distributed. It is also home to the Striped Hyaena, Macaques, Langurs and Mongoose species.
Conservation
These large mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India and several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. As mega species have increasingly become extinct, Project Tiger started in 1972 is a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats.[7] At the turn of the 20th century, one estimate of the tiger population in India placed the figure at 40,000, yet an Indian tiger census conducted in 1972 revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part of the 20th century led to the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) General Assembly meeting in Delhi in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in the India. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act came into force. The framework was then set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.
Launched on April 1, 1973 Project has become one of the most successful conservation ventures in modern history. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves' which are representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within India. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in their natural environment.
Today, there are 27 Project Tiger wildlife reserves in India covering an area of 37,761 km².
Project Elephant, though less known, started in 1992 and works for elephant protection in IndiaMost of India's rhinos today survive in the Kaziranga National Park.

Recent extinctions
The exploitation of land and forest resources by humans along with hunting and trapping for food and sport has led to the extinction of many species in India in recent times. These species include mammals such as the Indian / Asiatic Cheetah, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoceros.While some of these large mammal species are confirmed extinct, there have been many smaller animal and plant species whose status is harder to determine. Many species have not been seen since their description.
Hubbardia heptaneuron, a species of grass that grew in the spray zone of the Jog Falls prior to the construction of the Linganamakki reservoir, was thought to be extinct but a few were rediscovered near Kolhapur.
Some species of birds have gone extinct in recent times, including the Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) and the Himalayan Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa). A species of warbler, Acrocephalus orinus, known earlier from a single specimen collected by Allan Octavian Hume from near Rampur in Himachal Pradesh was rediscovered after 139 years in Thailand.



AsianElephant Lion



Flora of India
Flora of India
There are about 17500 taxa of flowering plants from India. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 helped to improve protection of the natural habitat.

National Animal, National Bird & National Tree of India
National Animal of India is a Tiger(Bengal Tiger) & National Bird is Peacock (Indian Peafowl) & the national tree is a Banyan Tree.

Project TigerProject
Tiger is a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tigers. It was launched on April 1, 1973 and has become one of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted tiger reserves representative of various bio-geographical regions throughout India. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in their natural environment.
In 2007, there were 28 Project Tiger wildlife reserves covering an area of 37,761 km². Project Tiger helped increased the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990s.

Biosphere reserves
The Indian government has established 14 Biosphere Reserves of India which protect larger areas of natural habitat and often include one or more National Parks and/or preserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life.
Four of the fourteen biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list.
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve
See alsoGreat Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Endemic birds of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

References
^Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC), New Delhi and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), World Conservation Monitoring Center, Cambridge, UK. 2001. Biodiversity profile for India. ^ Botanical Survey of India. 1983. Flora and Vegetation of India — An Outline. Botanical Survey of India, Howrah. 24 pp.

^ Valmik Thapar, Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, 1997.

^Tritsch, M.E. 2001. Wildlife of India Harper Collins, London. 192 pages. ISBN 0-00-711062-6

^ K. Praveen Karanth. (2006). Out-of-India Gondwanan origin of some tropical Asian biota

^ Groombridge, B. (ed). 1993. The 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. lvi + 286 pp.

^ Project Tiger Accessed Feb, 2007 ^ Project Elephant Accessed Feb, 2007

^ Vivek Menon (2003). A field guide to Indian mammals. Dorling Kindersley, Delhi.

^ IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) E-Bulletin - December 2002 Accessed October 2006

^ Threatened birds of Asia Accessed October 2006

^ The Nation, March 6, 2007

^ UNESCO, Man and the Biosphere (MAB) .

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Introduction Of World Top Colleges


Higher Education
In relation to universities, the term college normally refers to a part of the university which does not have degree-awarding powers in itself. Degrees are always awarded by universities whereas colleges are institutions or organisations which prepare students for the degree.
In some cases, colleges prepare students for the degree of a university of which the college is a part (eg colleges of the University of London, University of Cambridge, etc.) In other cases, colleges are independent institutions which prepare students to sit as external candidates at other universities or have authority to run courses that lead to the degrees of those universities (e.g. many higher education colleges and university colleges).
  • The constituent parts of collegiate universities, especially referring to the independent colleges that make up the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
  • The constituent parts of collegiate universities which provide accommodation and pastoral services at St Andrews and Durham.
  • The constituent parts of collegiate universities, such as Lancaster and York and Kent. Some universities, such as Imperial College London, which is a university in its own right. Also University College London and King's College London, which are federal colleges of the University of London but are also de facto universities in their own right as they can award their own degrees. A name given to large groupings of faculties or departments, notably in the University of Edinburgh, and in the future, under restructuring plans, the University of Birmingham. University colleges — independent higher education institutions that have the power to award degrees, but are not actually universities.

Professional Bodies

  • Professional associations such as the Royal College of Organists, the Royal College of Surgeons and other various Royal Colleges.

Law Courts

  • The College of Justice or Court of Session of Scotland

Higher education in the United States

In American English, the word, in contrast to its many and varied British meanings, often refers to liberal arts colleges that provide education primarily at the undergraduate level. It can also refer to schools which offer a vocational, business, engineering, or technical curriculum. The term can either refer to both a self-contained institution that has no graduate studies or to the undergraduate school of a full university (i.e., that also has a graduate school). In popular American usage, the word "college" is the generic term for any post-secondary undergraduate education. Americans go to "college" after high school, regardless of whether the specific institution is formally a college or a university, and the word and its derivatives are the standard terms used to describe the institutions and experiences associated with American post-secondary undergraduate education.


Colleges vary in terms of size, degree, and length of stay. Two-year colleges offer the Associates degree (A.A.) and four-year colleges offer the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.) degree. These are usually primarily undergraduate institutions, although some might have limited programs at the graduate level.
Four-year institutions in the U.S. which emphasize the liberal arts are liberal arts colleges. These colleges traditionally emphasize interactive instruction (although research is still a component of these institutions). Examples include Grove City College in Pennsylvania, Ramapo College of New Jersey and Wheaton College in Illinois. If not associated with a university, they are often categorized as residential and generally have smaller enrollment, class size, and teacher-student ratios than universities. These colleges often encourage a high level of teacher-student interaction at the center of which are classes taught by full-time faculty rather than graduate student TAs (who sometimes teach the classes at Research I and other universities). The colleges are either coeducational, women's colleges, or men's colleges. Some are historically black colleges. Some are also secular (or not affiliated with a particular religion) while others are involved in religious education. Many are private. Some are public liberal arts colleges. In addition, colleges such as Hampshire College, Pitzer College, Sarah Lawrence College, Bennington College, Marlboro College and New College of Florida offer experimental curriculums.

On the other hand, public and private universities are research-oriented institutions which service both an undergraduate and graduate student body. Graduate programs grant a variety of Master's degrees including M.B.A.s or M.F.A.s. The doctorate is the highest academic degree, and the Ph.D. is given in most fields. Medical schools award M.D.s while law schools award the J.S.D. as the highest academic achievement. These institutions usually have a large student body. Introductory seminars can have a class size in the hundreds in some of the larger schools. The interaction between students and full-time faculty can be limited as compared to some liberal arts colleges. At some of the larger universities some undergraduate classes are taught by graduate student TAs.
At the same time, some American universities, such as Boston College, Dartmouth College, the College of Charleston and The College of William & Mary, have retained the term "college" in their names for historical reasons or because of an undergraduate focus, although they offer higher degrees. This problem led, in part, to the threatened lawsuit between Yale College Wrexham (equivalent to an American "high school") and Yale University, the latter claiming trademark infringement.[citation needed] As of 2003, there were 2,474 four-year colleges and universities in the United States.
Usage of the terms varies among the states, each of which operates its own institutions and licenses private ones. In 1996 for example, Georgia changed all of its four-year colleges to universities, and all of its vocational technology schools to technical colleges. (Previously, only the four-year research institutions were called universities.) Other states have changed the names of individual colleges, many having started as a teachers' college or vocational school (such as an A&M — an agricultural and mechanical school) that ended up as a full-fledged state university.
It should be noted, too, that "university" and "college" do not exhaust all possible titles for an American institution of higher education. Other options include "institute" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), "academy" (United States Military Academy), "union" (Cooper Union), "conservatory" (New England Conservatory), and "school" (Juilliard School), although these titles are only for their official names. In colloquial use, they are still referred to as "college" when referring to their undergraduate studies.
The term college is also, as in the United Kingdom, used for a constituent semi-autonomous part of a larger university but generally organized on academic rather than residential lines. For example, at many institutions, the undergraduate portion of the university can be briefly referred to as the college (such as The College of the University of Chicago, Harvard College at Harvard, or Columbia College at Columbia) while at others each of the faculties may be called a "college" (the "college of engineering", the "college of nursing", and so forth). There exist other variants for historical reasons; for example, Duke University, which was called Trinity College until the 1920s, still calls its main undergraduate subdivision Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Some American universities, such as Princeton, Rice, and Yale do have residential colleges along the lines of Oxford or Cambridge, but the name was clearly adopted in homage to the British system.[citation needed] Unlike the Oxbridge colleges, these residential colleges are not autonomous legal entities nor are they typically much involved in education itself, being primarily concerned with room, board, and social life. At the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, Santa Cruz, however, each of the residential colleges do teach its own core writing courses and has its own distinctive set of graduation requirements.

The origin of the U.S. usage
The founders of the first institutions of higher education in the United States were graduates of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The small institutions they founded would not have seemed to them like universities — they were tiny and did not offer the higher degrees in medicine and theology. Furthermore, they were not composed of several small colleges. Instead, the new institutions felt like the Oxford and Cambridge colleges they were used to — small communities, housing and feeding their students, with instruction from residential tutors (as in the United Kingdom, described above). When the first students came to be graduated, these "colleges" assumed the right to confer degrees upon them, usually with authority -- for example, the College of William and Mary has a Royal Charter from the British monarchy allowing it to confer degrees while Dartmouth College has a charter permitting it to award degrees "as are usually granted in either of the universities, or any other college in our realm of Great Britain."
Contrast this with Europe, where only universities could grant degrees. The leaders of Harvard College (which granted America's first degrees in 1642) might have thought of their college as the first of many residential colleges which would grow up into a New Cambridge university. However, over time, few new colleges were founded there, and Harvard grew and added higher faculties. Eventually, it changed its title to university, but the term "college" had stuck and "colleges" have arisen across the United States.
Eventually, several prominent colleges/universities were started to train Christian ministers. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Brown all started to train preachers in the subjects of Bible and theology. However, now these universities teach theology as a more academic than ministerial discipline.
With the rise of Christian education, renowned seminaries and Bible colleges have continued the original purpose of these universities. Criswell College and Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas; Southern Seminary in Louisville; Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois; and Wheaton College and Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois are just a few of the institutions that have influenced higher education in Theology in Philosophy to this day.

In U.S. usage, the word "college" embodies not only a particular type of school, but has historically been used to refer to the general concept of higher education when it is not necessary to specify a school, as in "going to college" or "college savings accounts" offered by banks. "University" is sometimes used in such contexts by Americans who wish to avoid ambiguity, for example in the context of Internet message boards where the reader hail from a different English speaking country.

Origin of U.S. State Colleges: The Morrill Act
In addition to private colleges and universities, the U.S. also has a system of government funded, public universities, also, in many cases, known as State Colleges. This system arose in order to make higher education more easily accessible to the citizenry of the country, specifically to improve agricultural systems by providing training and scholarship in the production and sales of agricultural products,[4] and to provide formal education in “…agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that seemed practical at the time.”
In the 1860s, when this act was established, the original colleges on the east coast, primarily those of the Ivy League and several religious based colleges, were the only form of higher education available, and were often confined only to the children of the elite. A movement arose to bring a form of more practical higher education to the masses, as “…many politicians and educators wanted to make it possible for all young Americans to receive some sort of advanced education.”[5] In 1862 Congress passed a measure that “…made it possible for the new western states to establish colleges for the citizens.”.[5] This was extended to allow all states that had remained with the union during the American Civil War, and eventually all states, to establish such institutions.
Most of the colleges established under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act have since gone on to become full universities. Some are amongst the elite of the world.
The rest of the English-speaking worldInfluenced by their origins in the British Empire, by contact with and sometimes imitation of U.S. academia, and even by modern American pop culture, the rest of the English-speaking world seems to have adopted a mix of the U.S. and British practices.

Australia
In Australia, the term "college" can refer to an institution of tertiary education that is smaller than a university, run independently or as part of a university. Following a reform in the 1980s many of the formerly independent colleges now belong to a larger university. Many private high schools that provide secondary education are called "colleges" in Australia. The term can also be used to refer to parts of a university, that provide residence for students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, called university colleges, as in the United Kingdom. These Colleges often provide additional tutorial assistance and some host theological study. In the state of Victoria, many public schools providing secondary education are known as secondary colleges, though most Victorians still refer to this level of education as "high school".
Additionally, in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, "college" refers to the final two years of high school (years eleven and twelve), and the institutions which provide this. In this context, "college" is a system independent of the other years of high school. Here, the expression is a shorter version of matriculation college.
In the state of South Australia nearly all private schools, including those with year levels from Reception (5 year olds) through to year 12 and 13 are called Colleges.

Canada

In Canada, the term "college" usually refers to a community college or a technical, applied arts, or applied science school. These are post-secondary diploma-granting institutions, but they are not universities and typically do not grant degrees, except in British Columbia where some have university status.[citation needed] In Quebec, it can refer in particular to CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, "college of general and professional education"), a form of post-secondary education specific to the Quebec education system that is required in order to continue onto university (unless one applies as a 'mature' student, meaning 21 years of age or over, and out of the educational system for at least 2 years), or to learn a trade. In Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta there are also institutions which are designated university college as they only grant under-graduate degrees. This is to differentiate between universities which have both under-graduate and graduate programs and those do not that. The Royal Military College of Canada, a full-fledged degree-granting university, does not follow the naming convention used by the rest of the country, nor does its sister school Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean or the now closed Royal Roads Military College.
The term "college" also applies to distinct entities within a university (usually referred to as "federated colleges" or "affiliated colleges"), akin to the residential colleges in the United Kingdom. These colleges act independently, but in affiliation or federation with the university that actually grants the degrees. For example, Trinity College was once an independent institution, but later became federated with the University of Toronto, and is now one of its residential colleges. In the case of Memorial University of Newfoundland, located in St. John's, the Corner Brook campus is called Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. Occasionally, "college" refers to a subject specific faculty within a university that, while distinct, are neither federated nor affiliated—College of Education, College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, among others.
There are also universities referred to as art colleges, empowered to grant academic degrees of BFA, Bdes, MFA, Mdes and sometimes collaborative PhD degrees. Some of them have "university" in their name (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University) and others do not (Ontario College of Art & Design and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design).
It should be noted that, unlike in the United States, there is a strong distinction between "college" and "university" in Canada. In conversation, one specifically would say either "I'm going to university" (i.e., studying for a three- or four-year degree at a university) or "I'm going to college" (suggesting a technical or career college). Due to this distinction, the cultural phenomenon known as college radio in the United States is more properly called "campus radio" in Canada.
In a number of Canadian cities, many government-run secondary schools are called "collegiates" or "collegiate institutes" (C.I.), a complicated form of the word "college" which avoids the usual "post-secondary" connotation. This is because these secondary schools have traditionally focused on academic, rather than vocational, subjects and ability levels (for example, collegiates offered Latin while vocational schools offered technical courses). Some private secondary schools in Toronto (such as Upper Canada College) choose to use the word "college" in their names nevertheless.[6] Some secondary schools elsewhere in the country, particularly ones within the separate school system, may also use the word "college" or "collegiate" in their names.[7]
A small number of the oldest professional associations use "college" in the name in the British sense, such as the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.


Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, the term "college" is usually limited to an institution of tertiary education, but the term is quite generic within this field. University students often say they attend "college" rather than "university", with the term college being more popular in wider society. This is possibly due to the fact that, until 1989, no university provided teaching or research directly. Instead, these were offered by a constituent college of the university, in the case of the National University of Ireland and University of Dublin — or at least in strict legal terms. There are many secondary education institutions that use the word college. Many secondary schools formerly known as technical colleges, were renamed as community colleges. These are secondary institutions in contrast to the American community college.
The state's only ancient university, the University of Dublin, is really English in its origins and, until recently, its outlook. Created during the reign of Elizabeth I, it is modelled on the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. However, only one constituent college was ever founded, hence the curious position of Trinity College, Dublin today. For a time, degrees in Dublin Institute of Technology were also conferred by the university. However, that institution now has its own degree awarding powers and is considering applying for full university status.
Among more modern foundations, the National University of Ireland, founded in 1908, consisted of constituent colleges and recognised colleges until 1997. The former are now referred to as constituent universities — institutions that are essentially universities in their own right. The National University can trace its existence back to 1850 and the creation of the Queen's University of Ireland and the creation of the Catholic University of Ireland in 1854. From 1880, the degree awarding roles of these two universities was taken over by the Royal University of Ireland, which remained until the creation of the National University in 1908 and the Queen's University of Belfast.
The state's two new universities Dublin City University and University of Limerick were initially National Institute for Higher Education institutions. These institutions offered university level academic degrees and research from the start of their existence and were awarded university status in 1989 in recognition of this. These two universities now follow the general trend of universities having associated colleges offering their degrees.
Third level technical education in the state has been carried out in the Regional Technical College network since 1970. These institutions are now referred to as Institutes of Technology, and some have delegated authority that entitles them to give degrees and diplomas in their own name. Initially these institutions offered only National Certificate and National Diploma courses. Now they also offer academic degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
A number of Private Colleges exist such as Griffith College, providing undergraduate and postgraduate courses validated by HETAC and in some cases by other Universities.
Other types of college include Colleges of Education, such as National College of Ireland. These are specialist institutions, often linked to a university, which provide both undergraduate and postgraduate academic degrees for people who want to train as teachers.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the term "college" has a range of meanings, as in the British case. In the first case it can refer to a secondary school. It is also used by tertiary institutions as either part of their names or to refer to a constituent part of the university, such as the colleges in the collegiate Chinese University of Hong Kong; or to a residence hall of a university, such as St. John's College, University of Hong Kong

India
The term university is more common than college in India. Generally, colleges are located in different parts of a state and all of them are affiliated to a regional university. The colleges offer programmes under that university. Examinations are conducted by the university at the same time for all colleges under its affiliation. There are several hundred universities and each university has affiliated colleges.
The first liberal arts and sciences college in India was the Presidency College, Kolkata (estd. 1817) (initially known as Hindu College). The first commerce and economics college in India was the Sydenham College, Mumbai which was established in the year 1913. The first Missionary institution to impart Western style education in India was the Scottish Church College, Calcutta (estd. 1830). The first modern university in India was the University of Calcutta (est. January 1857). The first research institution for the study of the social sciences and ushering the spirit of Oriental research was the Asiatic Society, (est. 1784). The first college for the study of Christian theology and ecumenical enquiry has been the Serampore College (est. 1818).
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are specialized institutions that award their own degrees. They are premier institutes in India. There are only seven of them at present.
New Zealand

In New Zealand the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school for ages 13 to 17. In contrast, most older schools of the same type are "high schools". Also, single-sex schools are more likely to be "Someplace Boys/Girls High School", but there are also very many coeducational "high schools". The difference between "high schools" and "colleges" is usually only one of terminology. However, many private or integrated schools are known as "such and such college" There does seem to be a geographical difference in terminology: "colleges" most frequently appear in the North Island, whereas "high schools" are more common in the South Island.
The constituent colleges of the former University of New Zealand (such as Canterbury University College) have become independent universities. Some halls of residence associated with New Zealand universities retain the name of "college", particularly at the University of Otago (which although brought under the umbrella of the University of New Zealand, already possessed university status and degree awarding powers). The institutions formerly known as "Teacher-training colleges" now style themselves "College of education".
Some universities, such as the University of Canterbury, have divided their University into constituent administrative "Colleges" - the College of Arts containing departments that teach Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science containing Science departments, and so on. This is largely modelled on the Cambridge model, discussed above.
Like the United Kingdom some professional bodies in New Zealand style themselves as "colleges", for example, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the R.A.C. of Physicians.

Philippines

The Philippines is heavily influenced by American educational system. Colleges are institutions of learning that grant degrees.

Singapore

The term "college" in Singapore is generally only used for pre-university educational institutions called "Junior Colleges", which provide the final two years of secondary education (equivalent to sixth form in British terms or grades 11-12 in the American system). Since 1 January 2005, the term also refers to the three campuses of the Institute of Technical Education with the introduction of the "collegiate system", in which the three institutions are called ITE College East, ITE College Central, and ITE College West respectively.
The term "university" is used to describe higher-education institutions offering locally-conferred degrees. Institutions offering diplomas are called "polytechnics", while other institutions are often referred to as "institutes" and so forth.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school, however not always. A limited number of exclusive secondary schools that were established during the colonial period based on English public school model and several catholic schools were named colleges. Many post-independence adapted the term college too.
There are several professional higher-education institutions that offer higher-education without granting degrees that are referred to as "colleges". This may include Sri Lanka Law College.

South Africa
Similar to New Zealand, in South Africa the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school. Nevertheless, most secondary schools are called "Someplace High (School)". The word "college" in South Africa generally implies that the school is private. In many cases the high school is exclusive and follows the English public school model. Thus no less than six of South Africa's Elite Seven high schools call themselves "college" and fit this description. A typical example of this category would be St John's College.


Another category of private high schools also use the "college" term. However, these schools do not follow the English public school model, but rather are more informal in character and specialize in improving children's marks through intensive focus on examination needs. These "colleges" are thus often nick-named "cram-colleges"

Although the term "college" is hardly used in any context at any university in South Africa, some non-university tertiary institutions call themselves colleges. These include teacher training colleges, business colleges and wildlife management colleges to name a few.

The non-English-speaking world

Some languages beyond English use words similar to "college". (French, for example, has the Collège de France.) However, in other languages, confusion is most likely to arise when an American is reading something translated by someone using British conventions, or vice versa.

Belgium

In Belgium, the term college is used for some catholic secondary schools (public secondary schools are often called atheneum). For higher education, there are two types of institutions: the Hogeschool (Dutch) / Haute Ecole (French) (which literally means high school but can be translated as university college or as vocational university) and the university. With the current reform of higher education under the Bologna process, the Hogescholen / Hautes Ecoles offer professional bachelor's degrees (3 years study in one cycle) or academic bachelor's degrees (first cycle of 3 years study) and master's degrees (second cycle of 1 or 2 years in addition to the academic bachelor's degree). Universities offer academic bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorate's degrees (minimum 3 years). More information about the higher education system can be found in the Higher Education Registers.
Brazil

In Brazil the term colégio (college) is normally used to refer to primary and secondary education institutions and mainly limited to private schools. It is more common to call a primary or secondary public school escola (school). Colégio is never used to refer to tertiary education institutions, which are called either universidade (university) or faculdade (faculty or college in US terminology).

East Asia
In the People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea and other East Asian states, colleges and universities are collectively named or in simplified writing , which is a word originally introduced by Confucius with his influential book of the same name. The original word and subsequently the book's title is most frequently translated to "The Great Learning". Today's pronunciation of this word is country- and sometimes region- specific and includes daxue (Chinese), daigaku (Japanese), and daehak (Korean). In Japan, daigaku is usually considered distinct from senmon gakkou which is more of a post-secondary vocational school. In the People's Republic of China, the college students are selected through the annual National College Entrance Examination. The meaning of is clear, but in the case of smaller institutions, the term 學院 ("xueyuan" in Chinese) is often used and, like "college" in English, can refer to either an institution of tertiary or secondary education.

Denmark
In Denmark the term kollegium means dormitory. A university is called a universitet. Some institutes of higher education call themselves højskole which literally means "high school" e.g. Handelshøjskolen i København (Copenhagen Business School) .
FinlandIn Finland the term college has no single counterpart. A general university is called yliopisto (in Swedish, universitet). A university on a specific field of study is korkeakoulu (literally, high school). The Swedish term is högskola. In translation they use "university", "school", or "academy". An institute of the more practically oriented branch of tertiary education is ammattikorkeakoulu, in Swedish yrkeshögskola. Some of them translate their name as "polytechnic", some as "university of applied science".

France

In France, collège generally refers to a middle school or junior high school. However, it can also be used in a manner more similar to that of English, such as in the term electoral college or the Collège de France. The latter use, though, is not as common. Courtyard of the Collège de France.

Germany

In Germany a Hochschule or Universität is an institute of tertiary education. "University" is a more proper term to use than a direct translation: Hochschule literally means "high school". German secondary education often takes place in an institution called in German an Oberschule, with its specific forms Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, and in some states also Gesamtschule, together with vocational secondary education in the Berufsschule (in North Rhine-Westphalia called Berufskolleg). The term Kolleg (literally: college) is used in some states for institutions of adult education where graduates of a Berufsschule can graduate with an Abitur (which one will otherwise only achieve by graduating successfully from the Gymnasium). College is the equivalent of the German Oberstufe (12th and 13th grade) in the Gymnasium. Having graduated from the Gymnasium with an Abitur enables one to go to university. A Graduiertenkolleg is a German Graduate school and a Studienkolleg is a special university-preparatory school for foreign students whose foreign high school diploma is not recognised to be equivalent to a German Abitur.

Greece

In Greece the term college is mainly used to refer to private secondary education institutions (high schools and junior high schools), while Πανεπιστήμιο (University) is the term utilized for Higher Education.

Hungary
In Hungary the term kollégium refers to a dormitory that may or may not be independent from an educational institution; it can also refer to a university's autonomous student organisation, dedicated to the advanced study of a certain science, topic etc, for example the "College for Social Theory".

Indonesia

In Indonesia the term kolese refers to a school that be organized by Jesuits. For example, Kolese Kanisius, Jakarta.

Israel

In Israel tertiary institutions accredited to confer a Bachelor's (and in some cases also a Master's) degree, which are not universities, are called Colleges (Hebrew: מכללות‎, Mikhlalot); the primary distinction is that only universities may award doctorate degrees. There are over twenty colleges as well as a similar number of teacher training colleges, most of which can award only a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree; see the full list of colleges, as well as of universities in Israel.

Italy

In Republican Rome, a collegium could be a voluntary association of men who met at a particular tavern at a major crossroads. A crossroads college was a social club, not a school. Business deals and even assassinations could be planned there, quietly, over a carafe of wine. (Source: Colleen McCullough, "The First Man in Rome,"1990.)

In Italy the term collegio, in school contest, refers to a particular school (with elite, alternative or stricter education; a collegio offered by the State to the children of some of its civil employee, or a collegio related to a military education, is more commonly called convitto), with possibility of passing here the night or most of the day.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands the term college is used for institutes of secondary education. The term college is also used for classes or lectures at university. Confusingly, college is also used to refer to both the mayor and aldermen of a municipality, who form the municipal government.

Norway
In Norway the term "university college" is used as an official English translation for høgskole (alternatively spelt høyskole and høgskule), a term used for independent educational institutions providing tertiary, but not quaternary education. Similarly to the situation in Germany, Sweden and Denmark, the Norwegian term høgskole literally means "high school".

Portugal
In Portugal the term college (colégio) is mainly used to refer to private secondary education institutions, while Universidade (University), Faculdade, Instituto or Escola Superior are the terms generally used for several kind of higher education institutions.

Romania
In Romania, college is a middle educational institution. It is the same as high school in U.S.A.


Russia

In Russia, upon finishing 9th grade students can choose to either continue attending high school and then go on to universities, or go to college. Colleges provide high school and technical education. After graduating from college students can continue their education in universities.


Spain, Spanish-speaking countries (Latin America)

In Spain and the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America the term colegio (school) refers to either institutions for primary and secondary education or some homogeneous grouping of people who refer to themselves as a colegio inasmuch as they are colleagues. For example, in Peru the professional organizations that group the lawyers of Lima or the biologists of Peru are called "Colegio de Abogados de Lima" (or College of Lawyers of Lima) and Colegio de Biologos del Peru; in Colombia, an example of professional body is the "Colegio Colombiano de Archivistas - CCA", called in English Colombian College of Archivists - CCA. An exception is Puerto Rico. On the island the word "colegio" usually refers to elementary to secondary private schools, while the word "escuela" is used to refer to elementary to secondary public schools. A unit of the University of Puerto Rico system is called El Colegio ( the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez ) for traditional reasons. The University of Puerto Rico was founded during the American sovereignty. Therefore, the graduates of this unit even at the Ph.D. level are Colegiales.

Sweden

In Sweden the term "university college" is used as an official English translation for högskola, a term used for independent educational institutions providing tertiary, but not quaternary education. Similarly to the situation in Norway, the Swedish term högskola literally means "high school". The same term is also used for a number of institutions which function as specialized universities rather than university colleges, providing quaternary education and conducting research. Before studying at a "högskola" or university (universitet), you must have fulfilled the Gymnasium (school), being the grades from 10 to 12. That means that the common högskola/university student is 19 years old and above.
Examples of Swedish universities are found at List of universities in Sweden.

Switzerland
In some cantons of the French speaking part of Switzerland and also on the border to the Swiss German speaking part (i.e. in Fribourg) the French term “Collège” (German: Kollegium) is used for middle school or junior high school and sometimes for the Gymnasium (10th to 13th grade) which lends to the matura. It is also used as a name for the physical building in which obligatory education takes place (e.g., Le Collège de La Planta).
Turkey

In Turkey, the term college (kolej in Turkish) refers to private high schools. The name originates from Robert College, the first American educational institution founded outside the United States. Though founded as a college, the school also had middle and secondary sections over the years after its foundation in 1863. Since 1971, Robert College operates as a private high school; however, the term kolej (college) is widely used by the private high schools that flourished over the last few decades, as an imitation of foreign schools, like Robert College, in Turkey. According to the Turkish education system, official name for a private high school is the direct translation, özel lise, not kolej.

Vietnam
In Vietnam there are 2 ways to use the word "college".
Vietnamese usually say "college" refers to is a higher education institute in Vietnam. The courses last for 3 years, 1 year shorter than (Vietnamese, means "university"). After graduation from a college, students are awarded a degree. This degree is evaluated below a degree from a university. If necessary, the student with a colleges' degree can transfer to a university and study in one year or more to complete their course at a suitable university. Vietnamese students would rather attend a university than a college. The university enjoys more prestige and popularity than colleges.
The second usage is not common. "College" refer to a school in a university, like some in the US. Vietnam National University, Hanoi has 5 colleges in its divisions.