Introduction to Education Vocabulary
Education vocabulary is useful for talking about school, university, exams, qualifications and learning.
You may need to describe:
- your school experience
- university life
- subjects and courses
- exams and grades
- teaching methods
- qualifications
- learning habits
For example:
I studied biology and chemistry at school.
She’s doing a degree in engineering.
We have an important exam next week.
He graduated from university last year.
Learning individual education words is useful, but it is even better to learn common combinations such as take an exam, get a degree, attend a lecture and do homework.
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School vocabulary
These words are commonly used when talking about primary and secondary education.
Examples:
We had six lessons a day.
Maths was my favourite subject at school.
Our school uniform was quite strict.
I usually did my homework after dinner.
In British English, pupil is often used for children at school, while student is more common for older learners and people at university. However, student is also widely used more generally.
University vocabulary
University introduces a different set of words.
Common university vocabulary includes:
university
campus
degree
undergraduate
postgraduate
lecturer
professor
lecture
seminar
tutorial
assignment
dissertation
thesis
faculty
department
accommodation
Degree
A degree is a qualification awarded after completing a university course.
She has a degree in economics.
He’s studying for a degree in computer science.
Undergraduate and postgraduate
An undergraduate is studying for a first university degree.
A postgraduate is studying after completing a first degree.
She’s an undergraduate at Manchester University.
He’s doing a postgraduate course in law.
Lecture, seminar and tutorial
A lecture usually involves one teacher speaking to a larger group.
A seminar is usually smaller and involves more discussion.
A tutorial is often a small-group or individual teaching session.
Examples:
I have a lecture at nine.
We discussed the article in our seminar.
I need to prepare some questions for my tutorial.
To practise using this language in spoken answers about your own studies, see our IELTS Speaking Part 1 education questions and answers.
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Subjects and qualifications
Education vocabulary includes the subjects people study and the qualifications they receive.
Common school subjects
English
maths
science
biology
chemistry
physics
history
geography
art
music
physical education
computing
economics
languages
Examples:
I was quite good at history, but I found physics difficult.
She wants to study economics at university.
Qualifications
Common terms include:
certificate
diploma
degree
bachelor’s degree
master’s degree
doctorate / PhD
Examples:
She completed a master’s degree in education.
He has a degree in business.
She’s currently doing a PhD.
Useful verbs
earn a qualification
get a degree
complete a course
graduate from university
study for a qualification
pass an exam
fail an exam
Be careful with graduate.
Correct:
She graduated from university in 2024.
Not usually:
She graduated university.
Education and qualifications often lead naturally into career vocabulary, so continue with our Jobs and Occupations Vocabulary.
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Teaching and learning verbs
Learning useful verbs makes education vocabulary much more natural.
Study
Use study for the general activity of learning.
I study English every day.
She studied engineering at university.
Learn
Use learn when gaining new knowledge or a skill.
I’m learning Spanish.
We learnt about climate change in class.
Teach
A teacher teaches a subject or skill.
She teaches maths.
He taught me how to use the software.
Revise
In British English, revise means study something again before an exam.
I need to revise for my chemistry exam.
American English often uses review in this context.
Attend
You can:
attend school
attend university
attend a lecture
attend a course
Other useful verbs
take notes
do homework
write an essay
complete an assignment
give a presentation
carry out research
memorise information
develop a skill
improve your knowledge
Exams and assessment
Assessment is the process of measuring a student’s knowledge or performance.
Useful words include:
exam
test
quiz
assessment
coursework
assignment
essay
project
presentation
mark
grade
result
feedback
Take or sit an exam
In British English, you can say:
take an exam
or:
sit an exam
Examples:
I’m taking an exam next week.
She sat her final exams in June.
Pass and fail
pass an exam
fail an exam
Examples:
He passed all his exams.
She was worried she might fail maths.
Marks and grades
A mark is a score for a piece of work or exam.
A grade may be a letter, number or overall level.
I got 82% in the test.
She received an A grade.
Feedback
Feedback is information about how well you performed and how you can improve.
The teacher gave me useful feedback on my essay.
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Useful education collocations
Common word combinations include:
Take
take an exam
take a course
take notes
take a gap year
Do
do homework
do an assignment
do a degree
do research
Get
get a degree
get good grades
get a qualification
get feedback
Pass / fail
pass an exam
pass a course
fail an exam
Attend
attend school
attend university
attend a lecture
attend classes
Other useful combinations
study a subject
graduate from university
apply to university
enrol on a course
submit an assignment
meet a deadline
miss a deadline
gain experience
develop skills
achieve good results
Examples:
I need to submit my assignment by Friday.
She got excellent grades at school.
He decided to take a gap year before university.
If you are preparing for IELTS Writing, you can see many of these expressions used in context in our IELTS Writing Task 2 education essay sample.
British and American differences
Some education words are different in British and American English.
The term public school can be especially confusing.
In British English, a public school is traditionally a type of private fee-paying school.
In American English, a public school is funded by the government.
For learners using British English, state school is the normal term for a government-funded school.
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Exercises and answers
Exercise 1: Choose the correct word
- Work you do outside class is called __________.
- homework
- campus
- degree
- A person who teaches at university may be called a __________.
- lecturer
- pupil
- timetable
- A university qualification is a __________.
- degree
- lesson
- break
- A large university teaching session is a __________.
- lecture
- uniform
- grade
- Studying again before an exam is called __________ in British English.
- revising
- graduating
- enrolling
- Information about how well you performed is __________.
- feedback
- accommodation
- timetable
Exercise 2: Complete the collocations
Use: take, do, pass, attend, submit, get
- __________ an exam
- __________ homework
- __________ a lecture
- __________ good grades
- __________ an assignment
- __________ a course
Exercise 3: British or American English?
Give the British English equivalent.
- elementary school → __________
- principal → __________
- math → __________
- schedule → __________
- public school meaning government-funded school → __________
- study for a test → __________ for an exam
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Answers
Exercise 1
- homework
- lecturer
- degree
- lecture
- revising
- feedback
Exercise 2
- take an exam
- do homework
- attend a lecture
- get good grades
- submit an assignment
- take a course
Exercise 3
- primary school
- head teacher
- maths
- timetable
- state school
- revise for an exam
When learning education vocabulary, focus on complete phrases such as do homework, take an exam, attend a lecture, get a degree, submit an assignment and graduate from university. These combinations will help you talk much more naturally about school, university and learning.
More Education and Academic English
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