Hochschule

Etymology
From.

Noun

 * 1) college; university; graduate school; institute; academy educational institution for advanced studies, usually academic, but also arts, etc.

Usage notes
The difference between and  is that a  is reserved for institutions that confer doctorates, whereas  is a broader term that includes those universities and colleges, which only confer lesser degrees and have no doctoral programs.

Note that Hochschule is a false friend and does not mean "high school". There is no equivalent to "high school" in Germany. Germany has a completely different school structure than that of the United States. German students attend from ages 10 to around age 16. After, they move on to either (comparable to a "college preparatory school") or move on to a  ("vocational school").