NIRF Rankings 2025 (OUT): Factors & Top Colleges & Universities for Engineering, MBA, Law & Other Streams

Top Management Institutes: Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, secured the top spot, followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode. The NIRF Ranking of b-schools was released on September 04, 2025, along with other NIRF 2025 Ranking categories. This year IIM Calcutta has been dethrone from fifth rank by IIM Lucknow in the NIRF 2025 MBA Rankings.

Top five MBA Colleges are listed below, check the list of top 100 MBA colleges in NIRF ranking 2025 here.

NIRF Ranking 2025 medical colleges

Top Medical Colleges in India- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi; Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; and Christian Medical College are the top three medical colleges in India as per the NIRF Rankings 2025.  

Check top five medical colleges in the country, for detailed list of colleges click here.

NIRF Pharmacy Rankings 2025

Top Pharmacy Institutes: The Jamia Hamdard led the pharmacy institutes category, closely followed by National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad and BITS Pilani.

Enlisted below are the top five pharmacy colleges in India as per the NIRF 2025 ranking framework, click here for detailed list:

NIRF Law Rankings 2025

Top Law Institutes: The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, once again emerged as the top law institute in the country as per the NIRF Law Rankings 2025, followed by National Law University, Delhi, and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

The top five law colleges are listed below, detailed NIRF Law Ranking 2025 List has been here.

NIRF Architecture Rankings 2025

There are around 860 Architecture colleges in India that offer courses in full-time, part-time, distance-learning, virtual classroom and online mode of study. These colleges provide degree, diploma and certificate courses.

Check list of top five architecture colleges in India.

This article presents all details related to NIRF Rankings 2025 including the parameters used, parameter-scoring criteria, parameters that students should consider for admission and more. Read on for more insights.

Brief History of NIRF

The first India Rankings for colleges and universities in India were released by NIRF in 2016.

The India-specific Government/NIRF rankings were launched due to poor performance of Indian universities in world university rankings. Many higher education experts argued that Indian universities rank low in world university rankings such as Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) as international ranking bodies are insensitive to the higher education scenario in countries such as India where the objective of improving access to higher education is more important than improving the quality of education.

It was also argued that world university rankings lay greater emphasis on parameters such as internationalisation (for instance, presence of international students and faculty) and reputation in which Indian universities are weak and ignore areas such as social inclusion on which they (Indian higher education institutions) focus.

Hence, the decision to introduce India-specific university ranking system was made by the Government, which led to the current NIRF Rankings framework. 

NIRF Ranking Parameters

NIRF provides rankings to universities and colleges in India based on scores obtained by them in five parameters:

• Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)
• Research and Professional Practice (RP)
• Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
• Graduation Outcomes (GO)
• Perception (PR)

Each parameter has various sub-parameters based on which higher education institutions are ranked. as mentioned below:

It may be noted that while NIRF ranking parameters remain same for every category (Overall, Engineering, Architecture, Management, Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Law), there might be some changes in the sub-parameters relevant for a particular category.

Read More:

NIRF 2025 Rankings (OUT): Top 100 Universities in India, Ranks Parameters with Weightage

Top MBA Colleges in India 2025: Ranking, Fees, Admission, Courses, Placements

Importance of NIRF Rankings for Students

In India, there are various higher educational institutions attracting students for enrollment in a wide variety of courses offered by them. However, not all offer quality education to students. On the other hand, choosing the right educational institution is one of the most important tasks in a student’s life that ensures bright future ahead.   

This is where NIRF rankings come into play. A good rank of an institution shows that its students receive well-rounded education. A good ranking also ensures that the institute has better reputation in the education industry than its counterparts.  

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released its 2025 rankings in August. Notably, the NIRF 2025 rankings incorporated Open University, Skills University and State Public University Rankings within NIRF, along with the introduction of sustainability criteria, thereby showcasing the accomplishments of diverse educational institutions across India.

Continuing its streak, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras secured the top spot in the Overall category for the sixth consecutive year, while the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was recognized as the best university. AIIMS Delhi maintained its position as the leading medical institution, and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad retained its top rank among MBA colleges.

Key Highlights of NIRF Ranking 2025

Since its inception in 2015, NIRF Rankings, also known as India Rankings by the Education Ministry, have gained traction, witnessing increased participation from institutions and expansion into new categories each year.

Categories in NIRF Ranking:

The 2025 NIRF Rankings encompassed 16 categories, including major ones like, "Overall," Universities, Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Dental, Architecture & Planning, Research Institutions, and Colleges.

Statistics on NIRF Rankings:

A record number of 7,692 unique institutions responded and offered themselves for ranking under “Overall”, category-specific or domain-specific ranking. In all, 14,163 applications for ranking were made by these 7,692 unique applicant institutions including 4,045 in Overall Category, 1,584 in Engineering, and 4,030 in General Degree Colleges. A noticeable increase in institutional participation in the rankings exercise this year indicates its recognition amongst institutions of higher education in India as a fair and transparent ranking exercise. Number of unique applicants to India Rankings have increased from 2,426 in 2016 to 7,692 in 2025 whereas total number of applications for ranking in various categories have increased from 3,565 in 2016, to 14,163 in 2025 i.e. total increase of 5266 (217% increase) in number of unique institutions and 10,598 (297.3% increase) in total number of applicants.

Notable Top-ranking Institutions:

NIRF Rankings cover various categories such as NIRF Engineering Ranking 2025, Top 10 NIRF colleges, and NIRF MBA Ranking 2025, NIRF Medical Rankings 2025, NIRF Dental Rankings, NIRF Pharmacy Rankings, Top Law Colleges under NIRF Law Rankings and so on.

NIRF Rankings – Which Parameters to Consider for Admission?

Candidates can refer the NIRF rankings released annually to choose the best university/college for themselves. However, the question arises, ‘which ranking parameters to consider the most for admission?’

To help answer the question, further we have explained each NIRF ranking parameter in detail:

Teaching, Learning and Resources

This parameter deals with the teaching and learning resources available with an institution and the way they are utilised. TLR has the following sub-parameters:

• Student strength including doctoral students: This is calculated based on the number of students enrolled in undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses offered at the institute
• Faculty-student ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty: This is calculated based on the total number of students enrolled versus the total permanent faculty at the institute. The optimum expected ratio is 1:15, that is, one teacher for every 15 students.
• Combined metric for faculty with PhD (or equivalent) and experience: This is calculated based on the percentage/number of faculty that is PhD qualified
• Financial resources and its utilization: This is calculated based on an institute’s annual average capital and operational expenditure per student for the past three years

Graduation Outcome

This is an important parameter that students should consider while securing admission in an institute. This parameter measures the ultimate goal of a university/college. Various sub-parameters under GO include:

• Metric for university examinations: It is calculated based on number of students passing the respective university exams in stipulated time for the course in which enrolled
• Metric for number of PhD students graduated: It is calculated based on the number of students who have completed their PhD from the institute in the last three years

Apart from the sub-parameters mentioned above, the below sub-parameters are also included under GO for few categories such as Engineering, Management and Law:

• Combined % for placement, higher studies and entrepreneurship: It is calculated based on the percentage of graduating students placed through campus placements, selected for higher education or started their own start-ups  
• Median salary: It is calculated based on the median salary of graduates who have passed from the college/university
• Metric for graduating students admitted into top universities: It is calculated based on the number of students who have secured admission in top universities across the globe against the total number of students graduated from the institute

Perception

Although this parameter has the least weightage in NIRF ranking framework, it is an important factor to consider at the time of college admissions. The parameter judges the overall perception of the college/university by peers, industry and researchers.

• Peer Perception: Academic peers and employers: It is calculated based on a survey done over a large category of employers, professions from reputed organisations and a large category of academics to capture their preference for graduates of different institutes

Research and Professional Practice

This parameter measures the quality of research carried out at an institute and the scholarships offered to students.

• Combined metric for publications: This is calculated based on the total publications reported in Web of Science, Indian Citation Index, etc.
• Combined metric for quality of publications: This calculates the quality of publications
• IPR and patents: Published, granted and licensed: This is calculated based on the number of patents granted, published and licensed over last three years
• Footprint of projects and professional practice and executive development programmes: It is calculated based on average research funding earning received at institute level and average annual earnings from full-time executive development programmes in last three years

Outreach and Inclusivity

This parameter majorly deals with the representation of women and other marginalised and minority students in an institution.  

• Percentage of students from other states/countries: As the name suggests, this is calculated based on the total number of students in an institute belonging to other states and countries
• Percentage of women: It is calculated based on the number of women enrolled in an institute as students, faculty and in other administrative jobs. The ideal expectation is to have 50 per cent students and 20 per cent faculty.
• Economically and socially challenged students: It is calculated based on the number of economically and socially challenged students being provided full tuition fee reimbursement by the institute
• Facilities for physically challenged students: It is calculated based on the facilities provided for physically challenged students