Higher Education is one of the priorities of today's students in Pakistan. Every school and college student wants to go to higher education institutions and wants to study bachelor's and master's level education.
There are a lot of higher education institutions / Universities in Pakistan where anyone can get admission to higher education easily. But what are the top 10 universities in Pakistan?
There are no specifically ranked universities in Pakistan by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, but Times Higher Education (THE) has ranked many Pakistani universities in the list of World Best Universities in 2023.
Best Universities in Pakistan 2023
Times Higher Education collected the data and ranked the universities of the world in order, there are several Pakistani universities in the list of top world universities in 2023.
Times Higher Education (THE) collects data on a regular basis to make a list of top-ranking universities in different countries. This ranking of universities helps students and teachers to choose a good institute for them.
Times Higher Education (THE) makes a list of top world universities every year on the basis of the performance of various universities in the world. T.H.E has some points or factors for ranking universities, which are:
- Teaching
- Research
- Citation
- Industry Income
- International Outlook
- The Subject Ranking
On the basis of 13 major ranking factors and performance analysis, times higher education has listed the world's top universities in 2023. Which universities of Pakistan are listed among the world's top universities? Let's know about the top universities in Pakistan.
1- Quaid-I-Azam University
Quaid-i-Azam University, formerly known as Islamabad University, is a reputable institution located in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university, established in 1967 as a teaching and research institution, now offers both undergraduate and graduate programs to students.
Quaid-i-Azam University has established strong partnerships with leading universities in Europe, South Asia, and the United States.
Additionally, a significant number of the faculty members have prior work experience in prestigious international universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Columbia.
The university's main areas of research are biological sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and medicine, and it boasts various faculties in these fields.
The campus spans approximately 6.9 km² and is located beneath the Margalla Hills, at the foothills of the Himalayas. The Margallas is an excellent location for bird watching, hosting hundreds of species, while the hills themselves are perfect for hill walking, rock climbing, and paragliding.
Quaid-i-Azam University provides its students with buses so that students can arrive and leave the university easily.
QAU Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 401-500
- Students: 9250
- Student per Staff: 16.5
- International Students: 1%
- Female, Male Ratio: 51:49
The university's facilities include well-equipped classrooms, state-of-the-art laboratories, and libraries. Other facilities, such as hostels for male and female students, sports fields, and a mosque, are centrally located within the campus.
The canal running through the campus adds beauty to the surroundings, with various academic blocks situated towards the north side of the canal, and student residence blocks to its south.
Famous and Major alumni of Quaid-i-Azam University include Dr. Maliha Lodhi, who previously served as the high commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, Shamshad Akhtar, who heads the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Arsha Shareef Shaheed and Asghar Qadir, a renowned Pakistani mathematician and prominent cosmologist.
2- Government College University, Faisalabad
The Government College University Faisalabad has a rich history that dates back to 1905 when it started as a primary school in Karkhana Bazar, Faisalabad, and is among the best universities in Pakistan.
Over the years, it evolved into a high school, an intermediate college, and a degree-awarding institution.
In 1990, the Government of Punjab granted it autonomy, and it became a university in 2002, offering undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs.
The university has seven faculties that are the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Management Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Islamic Learning, the Faculty of Life Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Faculty of Physical Sciences.
Currently, the university hosts approximately 20,000 full and part-time undergraduate students, and 2,000 graduate and postgraduate students. On campus, there are amenities such as a daycare center, mosques, canteens, and banks.
GCU Faisalabad Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 501-600
- Students: 21,219
- Student per Staff: 27.3
- International Students: 0%
- Female, Male Ratio: 46:54
The main campus spans over 37 acres and is located on Jhang Road. The university is expanding, and a new campus that covers approximately 200 acres is under construction around four kilometers away from the main campus.
The university's motto is "striving for excellence" which reflects its dedication to delivering quality education and promoting academic excellence.
3- University of Management and Technology
The private research institution in Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan, originally known as the Institute of Management and Technology, is now called the University of Management and Technology.
It was created in 2002 as an Institute of Leadership and Management project and became an independent university in 2004. Currently, it offers over 125-degree programmes in diverse fields, such as aviation, linguistics, dairy science, and more, and has over 16,000 students.
There are more than 650 faculty members, with more than 160 holding PhDs, and over 1,500 administrative staff. The university's main campus has an academic block, library, learning resource center, classrooms, science and engineering laboratories, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a cafeteria, and a mosque.
The Sialkot campus is located in the Punjab city of Sialkot, which is renowned for its manufacturing and export industries, particularly surgical instruments, musical instruments, sports goods, leather goods, and textile goods. The Sialkot campus is equipped with multimedia classrooms, laboratories, and computer labs.
The university provides separate lodgings for male and female students, with the boys' lodgings at Wahdat Road in Lahore and the girls' lodgings in Wapda Town, on a first come first served basis.
UMT Lahore Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 501-600
- Students: 22,520
- Student per Staff: 22.2
- International Students: 2%
- Female, Male Ratio: 45:55
There are 60+ clubs and societies, some of them are the English Speaking Union, the Character Building Society, the Quizzical Society, the Islamic Society, Pet Lovers, the Blood Donors Society, the Muscular Rehabilitation Society, and the Happiness Club.
The university's has an inspirational motto, that is "We Transform Learners into Leaders of Tomorrow."
4- Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, a public university located in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, was established in 2009 and named after Abdul Wali Khan, a British Indian and later Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader who served as the president of the National Awami Party.
Originally housed in an existing postgraduate college, the university now has 49 affiliated institutions, nine campuses, around 12,500 students, and 500 academic staff.
The main campus, which hosts the central library, and eight other campuses including the University College for Women, the University College of Science Shankar, the Rashid Hussain Shaheed Campus, the Riffat Mahal campus, the Pabbi Campus, the Swabi campus, the Palosa campus, and the Garden Campus, which has one of the region's largest libraries, laboratories, computer labs, sports complex, and several hostels for students.
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan has six faculties: agriculture, arts and humanities, business and economics, chemical and life sciences, physical and numerical sciences, and social sciences.
AWKU Mardan Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 10,314
- Student per Staff: 20.9
- International Students: 0%
- Female, Male Ratio: 32:68
It also has three constituent colleges: The Pakhtunkhwa College of Art, Women's College, and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary College.
The university offers numerous extracurricular activities, including painting, photography, and sports. It has affiliations with many national and international universities, such as Brunel University London, Durham University, SOAS University of London, Seoul National University, University of Barcelona, Victoria University of Wellington, and the University of Kentucky.
5- Bahria University
In 2000, the Pakistan Navy established Bahria University.
The university evolved from the earlier Bahria College and Bahria Institute of Management and Computer Science (affiliated with Peshawar University) and aims to become "an internationally recognized university that contributes to national development through excellence in research and training."
Bahria University has faculties of engineering, management, health, psychology, medicine, and dentistry. Its main campus is located in the Naval Complex in Islamabad, with additional campuses in other cities. The Lahore campus is located in Johar Township.
Bahria University Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 10,314
- Student per Staff: 20.9
- International Students: 0%
- Female, Male Ratio: 32:68
Students can participate in various societies, clubs, and associations, including the literature and
6- COMSATS University, Islamabad
COMSATS University Islamabad is a public university with multiple campuses in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city, and other locations.
The university is well-regarded in Pakistan and has received high rankings among Asian universities. Its computer science and IT programs have been particularly praised, as has its research output.
The university has a total of eight campuses. The main campus is located in Islamabad, a relatively small capital city for such a large country in a densely populated region. However, the wider metropolitan area, including the neighboring city of Rawalpindi, has a population about 10 times larger than that of Islamabad itself.
The city is known for its careful planning and grid layout, as well as its growing cultural scene, with numerous museums, art galleries, green spaces, and shopping and nightlife districts.
COMSATS Islamabad Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 33,465
- Student per Staff: 14.8
- International Students: 2%
- Female, Male Ratio: 42:58
The university offers a wide range of programs in fields such as bioinformatics, business administration, earth sciences, and electrical engineering. Courses vary by campus and are taught in English. Low tuition fees and a low cost of living make COMSATS University Islamabad an affordable option for international students.
7- DOW University of Health Sciences
The Dow University of Health Sciences is a longstanding public university in Pakistan, established in 1945 as the Dow Medical College and renamed to its current form in 2003. It has been consistently ranked among the top medical schools in Pakistan for five years running by the Higher Education Commission.
Located in Karachi, Sindh province, the university is situated in Pakistan's largest city, which serves as the nation's financial, industrial, and transportation hub. Karachi's diversity, with its numerous ethnic groups, offers students a multicultural experience alongside their academic pursuits.
The university provides undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral courses for students seeking careers in health sciences. The curriculum emphasizes research and community engagement.
DOW University of Health Sciences Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 7249
- Student per Staff: 6.8
- International Students: 3%
- Female, Male Ratio: 76:24
A crucial aspect of the university's mission is giving back to the local community, with a particular focus on providing preventive and diagnostic treatment, as well as rehabilitation facilities for the less privileged. It also aims to improve community health by promoting public awareness of health issues.
The university boasts state-of-the-art facilities, including museums, information technology equipment, and specialized laboratories. Students can gain practical medical training at the professional development center, which includes access to mannequins, intensive care units, and operating theatre simulators. This hands-on experience provides students with a realistic expectation of what they can expect in their future careers in the health sciences.
8- University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Texila
The University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Taxila was initially founded as a branch of UET Lahore in Sahiwal in 1975 before relocating to Taxila in 1978. It achieved independent university status in 1993.
The university's facilities include a central mosque with a capacity of 700 worshippers.
In 2005, a second campus was established in Chakwal, which was granted independent university status in 2020. There are also plans for a new campus to be built in Pind Dadam Khan in the Jhelum district.
UET Texila Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 5290
- Student per Staff: 19.3
- International Students: 2%
- Female, Male Ratio: 18:82
The university offers various programs across faculties including electronics and electrical engineering, mechanical and aeronautical engineering, telecommunications and information engineering, civil and environmental engineering, industrial engineering, as well as basic science and humanities. With approximately 5,000 students, UET Taxila strives to provide quality education and research opportunities to its students.
9- Hazara University, Mansehra
Hazara University Mansehra is a Pakistani university that was established in 2001 near the city of Mansehra. The university offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs. Its four main faculties are sciences, arts, law and administration, and health sciences.
The Hazara university of mansehra offers 36 undergraduate programmes, while its two-year master's programs cover subjects such as conservation studies, genetics, botany, and education.
PHD programs of two-year duration are also available in subjects like psychology, education, Urdu, and religious studies.
Hazara University, Mansehra Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 12,145
- Student per Staff: 25.5
- International Students: 0%
- Female, Male Ratio: 26:74
The university also has a museum, the Hazara University Museum, which showcases Pakistan's cultural and ethnic heritage through its galleries of wooden objects, archaeology, ethnology, and Owais. Students can also access the central library, which has over 80,000 titles and 300 journals in various formats.
10- International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI)
IIUI, established in 1980 to celebrate the 15th century of the Islamic calendar, is located in the Pakistani capital on land donated by the former King of Saudi Arabia.
Following a state ordinance in 1985, the university was restructured with the aim of creating an international center for Islamic education in Pakistan. IIUI's vision is to promote the harmonious development of individuals and society and to rebuild human thought on the foundation of Islam.
The university collaborates closely with five foreign universities, including Al-Azhar in Egypt and four from Saudi Arabia.
IIUI is constructing a new campus in the H-10 sector of the city to accommodate up to 30,000 students, two-thirds of whom will be male. The university has separate facilities for male and female students, and it is renowned for promoting Islamic thought and Arabic language education.
IIUI, Islamabad Specifications for 2023:
- Rank: 601-800
- Students: 25,221
- Student per Staff: 25.1
- International Students: 7%
- Female, Male Ratio: 53:47
IIUI's School of Islamic Studies, Usuluddin, was founded in 1981, and the International Institute of Islamic Studies, which publishes quarterly journals in Arabic, Urdu, and English, was established two years later.
The International Institute of Economics is working toward developing an Islamic economic paradigm, while the IQRA College of Technology is responsible for technical education in various fields.
What do you think?
This is the overall ranking list of universities of Pakistan, where Quaid-i-Azam university, Islamabad tops the list and is considered one of the best universities in Pakistan according to Times Higher Education.
Which university is your favorite and if you are going to take admission in any of the above university, then which one is that? Tell your opinions in the comments.