India is rapidly making progress in all sectors and when it comes to education it is home to one of the most deeply renowned institutes in the entire world. Given that, India receives international students in great numbers annually who come here to gain quality education from some of the nation’s best institutes. In this article, we will look at the top ten universities in India that have established themselves as pioneers in providing quality education to their students.

These universities have an excellent track record of providing quality education to thousands of students each year which has helped them garner global recognition for their exceptional academics and student facilities.

List of the top 10 universities in India

1. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) – Bangalore

Topping the list we have the IISc or Indian Institute of Science which is located in Bangalore. As a premier institute in India IISc has received the coveted number position solely because of its dedication towards imparting quality education and the various facilities it provides to its students. IISc’s score on the list created by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is 83.57. The university offers several programmes and specialisation in the fields of Chemical Science, Physics, Mathematics, Electrical Science and more.

2. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi

The second on the list is the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) which is another well-known institute in India. It is mostly known for offering a plethora of courses in the humanities field. In the list of the top universities in India, JNU is ranked at number two with a score of 68.47.

Jawaharlal Nehru University offers various programmes both on the postgraduate as well as the undergraduate level. The university is located on a big campus and as part of it, there are various departments. Some of these include the Department of social sciences, languages, computer sciences and so on.

3. Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi

Another university situated in the capital, Jamia Milia Islamia is a true centre point of learning. One of the highlights of this university is the diversity of disciplines that it offers. In addition, Jamia Milia Islamia is also one of the few universities that offer great research facilities as well. It is worth noting how old this university is with it having its beginnings in the year 1920. Even after decades, the institute is still highly revered and sought after by thousands of students both from India and other countries. Being conferred with the deemed university status by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has further solidified its status as one of the top universities in India.

Jamia Milia Islamia has a score of 65.91 and is third on the best university list by NIRF.

4. Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Jadavpur University is located in Jadavpur, West Bengal. It is a premier university that offers a number of courses to students who wish to pursue higher studies in disciplines like Arts, Science and more. The university has got a NAAC accreditation and is recognised by UGC, AIU, AICTE and ACU. The university is ranked 4th by NIRF with a score of 65.37.

5. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore

The foundation for Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham was laid in the year 1994 by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. It is one of India’s widely recognised institutes that offers a diverse range of academic programmes for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate students. It currently has 7 campuses located in four south Indian states.

In addition, it has several departments that include the Amrita Schools of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, Amrita Schools of Business, Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amrita School of Communication, Amrita Schools of Engineering and Amrita Health Campuses.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has a score of 63.40 and is ranked 5th by NIRF.

6. Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was founded in the year 1916, its founders include

Annie Besant, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Rameshwar Singh, Prabhu Narayan Singh

and Sunder Lal. It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and is renowned for its research-oriented programmes in the fields of Humanities and Science. BHU is one of the few universities in the country that offers an extensive choice in terms of the course it offers. This is evident by the number of departments that it operates which is more than 140.

These include Management Studies, Social Sciences, Humanities, Commerce, Journalism & Mass Communication and Agricultural Science to name a few. The main campus of BHU is spread across 1370 acres of land and it serves as the largest residential university in Asia. It is ranked 6th by NIRF with a score of 63.20.

7. Manipal Academy of Higher Education-Manipal

Manipal Academy of Higher Education is a deemed-to-be-university located in Manipal, Karnataka. It was established in the year 1953 by Dr T. M. A. Pai. Aside from Manipal, the university has campuses in Mangalore, Jamshedpur, Bangalore in India and international campuses in Dubai and Malaysia. The university currently offers as many as 350 different courses in various streams. For its excellence in academics the Ministry of Education, Government of India has awarded it with the title “ Institute of Eminence”.

The university has a score of 62.84 and it is ranked 7th in the list of top Indian universities by NIRF.

8. Calcutta University, Kolkata

The University of Calcutta holds the status of India’s earliest multidisciplinary university. It is located in Kolkata and was founded in the year 1854. The university has received the prestigious National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation with an A+ grade. It is also part of UGC, ACU and AIU.

The University of Calcutta is spread across 14 campuses known as Sikhsa Prangan or education premises. Some of these include the Ashutosh Shiksha Prangan, Rashbehari Shiksha Prangan, Taraknath Palit Shiksha Prangan, and Taraknath Palit Shiksha Prangan.

The university offers several programmes in Humanities, Commerce and Science streams for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students.

In addition, the university also has 18 research centres for providing students with research facilities. The university is ranked 8th on the list and has a score of 62.23.

9. Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) was founded in the year 1984 by G. Viswanathan. It is accredited by National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) with an A++ grade and is conferred the deemed university status by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development. The university offers several undergraduate and postgraduate courses in addition to integrated and research programmes. NIRF has placed it in the 9th position with a score of 61.77.

10. University of Hyderabad (UoH), Hyderabad

The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is located in Gachibowli, Hyderabad and spread across 23,00 acres of land. It was set up in the year 1974 and falls under the category of a public research university.  The university has several departments offering various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Social Sciences, Economics, Humanities, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Chemistry and more.

With a score of 61.71 University of Hyderabad holds the 10th position on NIRF’s top university ranking list.

Conclusion

When we talk about the burgeoning education sector in India we can proudly say that it has scores of reputed universities that offer various specialised programmes and research facilities to Indian and foreign students.

The list of universities provided in this article is in order of the NIRF ranking from the year 2022. The list is topped by the Indian Institute of Science (IISC)  which is then followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Milia Islamia and more. These universities are well-known institutes for their faculty, academic concentrations and research facilities.