Top Universities in India 2026: Ranking, Admission, Fees, Placements

For studying science, choose from 180+ top universities in India. NIRF annually ranks these under the University category. Here, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore is the No. 1 university in India. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) in Manipal take the second and third spots. In addition to NIRF, you can also find listings of global rankings surveys, such as the QS World University Rankings, which ranks IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IIT Madras, which also have various science programmes other than engineering. Getting admission into these requires clearing national-level entrances, including IAT, JEE Advanced, or similar. Top private universities, including MAHE, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and SRM Institute of Science and Technology, will have in-house entrances, and they can be relatively easier to crack. Learn more below. 

Top Universities in India: Highlights 2026

The table below gives you a broad overview of the best locations, fee ranges, entrance exams, and most popular science programmes at the top universities in India.  Based on NIRF listings, you have the highest number of top-ranked universities in Delhi NCR, followed by Chennai. And, it is common for only some of the premier central government universities, like JNU, to be very affordable. But do note that science specialisations, including Agriculture, Biotechnology, Physics, and Computer Science, will have different fee ranges from the same universities.  

Parameters	Details
Total no. of Top Universities in India (NIRF)	180+ (NIRF)
Total Tuition Fee Range at Top Indian Universities for Science	~ INR 430 to INR 30+ Lakh
Popular Locations for Top Universities	Delhi NCR: 19 Chennai: 13 Bangalore: 9 Hyderabad: 7 Mumbai and Greater Mumbai: 5
Specialisations in Top Indian Universities	Agriculture Biotechnology Physics
Accepted Entrance Exams	IAT, CUET, JEE Advanced, etc

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top Universities	NIRF 2024	NIRF 2025
Indian Institute of Science Ranking	1	1
JNU Ranking	2	2
Manipal School of Life Sciences Ranking	4	3
JMI Ranking	3	4
Delhi University Ranking	6	5
BHU Ranking	5	6
BITS Pilani Ranking	19	7
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Ranking	7	8
Jadavpur University Ranking	9	9
Aligarh Muslim University Ranking	8	10

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top Universities in India: QS World University Ranking 2026

In the QS World University ranking 2026, IIT Delhi leads India as 123rd ranks globally followed by IIT Bombay and IIT Madras. 

College Name	QS World University Ranking 2026
IIT Delhi	123
IIT Bombay	129
IIT Madras	180
IIT Kharagpur	215
IISc	219
IIT Kanpur	222
DU	328
IIT Guwahati	334

Source: Official site and may vary.

Eligibility Criteria for Top Universities in India 2026

The general eligibility criteria for admission to the top Universities in India 

• Passing Class 12 in the Science stream with 60 to 75% or more marks is required. 
• Getting valid scores in the required entrance exam for the universities and waiting for counselling or interview rounds for final seat allocation.  

Entrance Exams Accepted in Top Universities in India 2026

To take admission to the top Universities in India, candidates must meet the eligibility criteria or pass an entrance exam. Listed below are the top entrance exams accepted in their schedule and syllabus -

Exam Name	Exam Schedule
IIT JAM	IIT JAM Schedule
CUET	CUET Schedule
ICAR AIEEA	ICAR AIEEA Schedule
CUET PG	CUET PG Schedule

 

Top Private Universities in India for Science

Almost all of the top 10 universities in this list have BSc and MSc programmes with several research-focused science departments with multiple citations across Indian and international scientific journals. See the fee ranges for the different types of science courses these offer.  

Private Universities	Total Tuition Fee
Manipal School of Life Sciences Courses	INR 4.4 Lakh to INR 5.7 lakh
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Science Courses	INR 5 Lakh
BITS Pilani Science Courses	INR 2.8 Lakh to INR 37.9 Lakh
VIT Vellore Science Courses	INR 2.3 Lakh to INR 3.2 Lakh
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences Courses	INR 1+ Lakh
Chandigarh University Science Courses	INR 1.7 Lakh to INR 8.7 Lakh
Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences Courses	INR 4.8 Lakh to INR 5.6 Lakh
SOA Science Courses	INR 1.5 Lakh to INR 42.5 Lakh
KIIT Science Courses	INR 4.8 Lakh - INR 7.7 Lakh
Lovely Professional University Courses	INR 3 Lakh to INR 28 Lakh

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

Top Indian universities like IITs, IIMs, IISc, BITS Pilani, and DU colleges consistently offer the highest salaries. Manipal School of Life Sciences offered the highest average salary of INR 11.75 LPA.

Universities Name	Total Tuition Fee	Annual Average Package
JNU Placement	INR 432	INR 9.50 LPA
JMI Placement	INR 42,700	INR 6 LPA
Manipal School of Life Sciences Placement	INR 3.06 Lakh	INR 11.75 LPA
Banaras Hindu University Placement	INR 2.40 lakh	INR 8.5 LPA
DU Placement	INR 11,010	INR 5.50 LPA

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

Top Universities in India under INR 1 lakh

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

Top Government Universities in India

The top government Universities in India include IISC, JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia, and many others, often leading national rankings like NIRF. Among the top 5 public universities listed here, three of them are in Delhi. 

Public/Govt. Universities	Total Tuition Fee
Indian Institute of Science Courses	INR 30,000 to INR 3.2 Lakh
JNU Science Courses	INR 432 to INR 3.1 Lakh
Jamia Millia Islamia Science Courses	INR 20,000 to INR 6.2 Lakh
DU Science Courses	INR 540 to INR 2.4 Lakh
BHU Science Courses	INR 600 to INR 2.4 lakh

Source: Official site and may vary.

Specialisations Offered by Top Universities in India

Top Indian Universities offer specialisations like Biotechnology, Agriculture, Chemistry, etc. See the table below. 

Top Specialisations	No. of Colleges	College Name
Biotechnology	24	Jamia Millia Islamia, VIT Vellore, SRM IST, Chennai, etc.
Agriculture	36	Banaras Hindu University, SOA University, KL University, etc.
Mathematics	16	Jadavpur University, KIIT - Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Panjab University, etc.
Computer Science	16	Aligarh Muslim University, Anna University, Srinivasa Ramanujan Center, etc.
Chemistry	15	Indian Institute of Science, KIIT, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, etc.

Source: Official site and may vary.

Top Universities in India: Comparison 2026

To check the comparison between the universities in India, click the link below:

• IISc Bangalore Comparison
• JNU Comparison
• JMI Comparison
• Jadavpur University Comparison