A college of engineering generally refers to an institute which offers engineering course at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level. Either these institutes are part of a university or are affiliated to some university. The duration of the undergraduate course is four to five years depending upon the university to which the college is affiliated. The students learn little of basic science (pure science) concentrating instead on its applications to real life problems. Some colleges provide postgraduate courses such as PhDs. Students can specialize in different branches such as electrical engineering, civil engineering and mechanical engineering. The popularity of engineering colleges is surging, especially in India, possibly because the information technology (IT) sector has a high demand for engineers. - Source: Wikipedia