Public university

A public university is an university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or regional government. In places such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe, most significant universities are public, while in the United States and Japan, both public and private universities are common and generally regarded as having similar academic standards. Many major public universities around the world were formerly private or religious institutions.

Worldwide, some public institutions like the University of Cambridge, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Melbourne, the University of Oxford, Peking University, National University of Singapore, the University of Tokyo, Trinity College Dublin, and ETH Zurich are held in particularly high esteem. In fact, in a recent worldwide university study by Shanghai Jiaotong University , three of the top 10 universities were public, with Cambridge 2nd, UC Berkeley 4th and Oxford 10th. World rankings by "The Times Higher Education Supplement" came up with similar findings with UC Berkeley 2nd, Cambridge and Oxford 5th and 6th, and ETH Zurich rounding out the top 10.

Public Universities Worldwide

North America

In the United States, most public universities are state universities founded and operated by state government entities. Every U.S. state has at least one public university to its name, and the largest states have more than a dozen. This is a direct result of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts, which gave each eligible state 30,000 acres (120 km²) of federal land upon which to establish educational institutions. 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. 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, the Naval Academy and the United States Air Force Academy.

Historically, the most prestigious universities in the United States have been private institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University and other Ivy League universities. While this perception continues, some of the top public institutions, like the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania State University, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, College of William and Mary, University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State University and the University of Washington, Seattle are highly prestigious as well. In fact, many of these universities are referred to as Public Ivies in an influential book by Richard Moll.

In Canada, education is the responsibility of the individual provinces. Universities are regulated by provincial governments but enjoy relative autonomy. Most tuition and governing decisions are made at the individual university level and therefore vary across the provinces and country.

East Asia

In Taiwan, public ("national") universities are considered to be generally more prestigious than private universities and require higher entrance examination scores.

In mainland China today, few private universities exist, and have only appeared in recent years. Several have been founded by large (public) institutions as legally independent spin-offs. These institutions are generally less highly regarded than their public counterparts, as they are seen by many to be focused primarily on income generation rather than the educational endeavor.

In Thailand, same as in Taiwan, public universities are considered to be generally more prestigious than private universities and require higher entrance examination scores. The exception is in business administration subjects, where many private universities are as strong as, or even stronger than a majority of public universities.

Latin America

Public universities in South America are generally more academically rigorous and therefore prestigious than their private counterparts, as academic goals are not blurred by profit motives.

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.

In Brazil, many of the most renowned universities are public such as the Universidade de São Paulo and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas.

In Argentina, public universities such as the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN) are among the most respected, although a few private institutions such as the Universidad Argentina De La Empresa (UADE) or the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) are also held in high esteem.

Europe

In Ireland all universities are public and the state pays a substantial amount of the cost of educating its undergraduates. There are a few private institutions of higher learning but none of them have university status.

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

Australia

In Australia, the majority of universities are public. There are 38 public universities and only two private universities, Bond University and the University of Notre Dame Australia. The oldest and most prestigious universities in Australia, are known as the Group of Eight and are all public universities.