Université vs. faculté
While both université and faculté relate to higher education in French, they are not interchangeable. They describe a hierarchical relationship: an université is the entire institution, while a faculté is a major division within it.
Université
A2An université refers to the entire university as a whole institution. It is the umbrella organization that encompasses various faculties, schools, and research centers. It is the direct equivalent of the English word university.
Elle rêve d'étudier à l'université de la Sorbonne.
(She dreams of studying at the Sorbonne University.)
Cette université est mondialement connue pour sa recherche en physique.
(This university is world-renowned for its research in physics.)
Le président de l'université a annoncé de nouvelles bourses d'études.
(The president of the university announced new scholarships.)
L'université organise une journée portes ouvertes le mois prochain.
(The university is organizing an open house day next month.)
Pour obtenir ce diplôme, il faut être inscrit dans une université française.
(To get this degree, you must be enrolled in a French university.)
Faculté
B1A faculté is a specific division, school, or department within an université, dedicated to a particular field of study. It is often translated as faculty, school, or college (in the sense of college of arts and sciences). In everyday speech, it is often informally abbreviated to la fac.
Je suis en première année à la faculté de droit.
(I am in my first year at the faculty of law.)
La faculté de médecine est située dans un bâtiment différent du reste du campus.
(The faculty of medicine is located in a different building from the rest of the campus.)
Il est professeur à la faculté des lettres et sciences humaines.
(He is a professor at the faculty of arts and humanities.)
Les cours les plus difficiles sont à la faculté des sciences.
(The most difficult classes are in the faculty of sciences.)
On se retrouve à la cafétéria de la fac après le cours.
(Let's meet at the faculty's cafeteria after class.)
Summary
In essence, the difference is one of scale and hierarchy. An université is the whole institution, the complete entity. A faculté is a smaller, specialized part of that université. Therefore, you study at a specific faculté (e.g., faculty of history) which is part of a larger université (e.g., University of Lyon).