Top Universities in Bangalore: Ranking, Fees, Admissions 2026, Courses, Placements

Bangalore's No. 1 university is IISc, or the Indian Institute of Science. It's also the top university in India in NIRF's official annual University Category, which is the most relevant lens for comparing BSc and MSc courses. Of the 180+ universities ranked by NIRF in 2025, 9 are based in Bangalore, which have different entrance tests and eligibility requirements. 

In general, private institutions, including Christ University and Jain University, hold their own in-house entrance exams: Christ University Entrance Test and Jain Entrance Test, while the government universities require national-level exams, such as IIT JAM or ICAR AIEEA. Explore below.    

Top Universities in Bangalore: Highlights 2026

Bangalore's 9 NIRF-ranked universities are specifically under the University category, which only assesses degree-granting institutions across all disciplines in India. This category is broader and unlike NIRF's separate Engineering, Management, or Agriculture rankings, which score only that one stream. Every university ranked in Bangalore has also been cross-checked against its official BSc and MSc course pages. Here's a quick snapshot before the detailed breakdown.

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top 9 Universities in Bangalore: NIRF 

IISc Bangalore has been holding the top spot for the last couple of years. In the top 100 tier, there are five universities in Bangalore, while the ranking bands - 101-150 and 151-200 - hold four more. 

Source: NIRF India Rankings: University 

Eligibility Criteria in Top Universities in Bangalore

The table has the eligibility conditions for the UG and PG science programmes at the top universities of Bangalore.  

Entrance Exams at Top Universities in Bangalore

These are the schedules for the entrance exams at the top universities in Bangalore. 

Top Private Universities in Bangalore

Jain Deemed-to-be University has a dedicated School of Science department offering both traditional and emerging discipline science degrees. Its BSc in CS, Physics, and Renewable Energy is one great example with a 93% placement rate as per Shiksha 2024 data. A more recognised and older institution in Bangalore is Christ University, which has around eight specialisations for BSc, and for MSc, it has introduced the Quantum Technologies by Research course for anyone who is into deep-tech. M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences has a broad portfolio of science courses covering Nursing, Data Science and Analytics at both BSc and MSc levels.  PES University has bachelor's programmes, similar to REVA University. View the courses and total fees below. 

Note: All info. is from official sites and can change. 

ROI of Top Bangalore Universities

Going by the NIRF parameter, Graduation Outcomes (GO), where the scores are available for the top 5 Bangalore universities, Christ University scores the least when compared with the rest. IISc scores the highest in GO, and its overall placement report for the 2023-24 batch, especially for its PG programmes, the median salary is INR 22 LPA. Do note, this placement data from IISc may not pertain to MSc cohorts, as it has other two-year programmes as well. Similarly, for Jain Deemed-to-be University, the average salary for the BSc in Forensic Science is given, and not for all its courses. For MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, you can find the average package for the BSc in Medical Radiology and Imaging course. 

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top Government Universities in Bangalore

IISc is the best university in Bangalore with excellent scores in most of the NIRF parameters, especially in teaching and learning resources and research. While it's quite competitive, you can check the state public institution, Bangalore University (BU), for merit-based admissions for more than 20 BSc programmes. BU is also the first in the state to introduce the integrated BSc-MSc track for Biological Sciences under NEP 2020 guidelines. And if you are considering other science courses, including agriculture and sericulture, you can check with another top-ranking institution, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. See all their fees for their courses below. 

Note: All info. is from official sites and can change.