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Ranking

Best universities in Pakistan — 2026 (HEC ranking + outcomes)

Curated 2026 list of best Pakistani universities by HEC ranking, faculty and student outcomes — covering medical, engineering, business and arts.

How we ranked

We blended HEC's most recent General-category ranking with publicly reported placement outcomes, faculty Ph.D. ratio and HEC research output. We deliberately exclude paid 'best of' rankings.

Top 10 — overall

  • 1. NUST (Islamabad)
  • 2. Quaid-i-Azam University (Islamabad)
  • 3. LUMS (Lahore)
  • 4. AKU (Karachi)
  • 5. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS, Islamabad)
  • 6. UET Lahore
  • 7. University of the Punjab (Lahore)
  • 8. NED University of Engineering & Technology (Karachi)
  • 9. Punjab University College of IT / FAST NU
  • 10. GIKI (Topi)

References

Frequently asked questions

Is NUST really #1?

On the HEC General category since 2021, yes — but for medicine, AKU and KEMU dominate; for pure CS, FAST and ITU now compete with NUST.