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18 Pakistani universities among world's best colleges for 2026 June 23, 2025 1712 The UK-based higher education analytics company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has announced the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings, which includes 18 Pakistani institutes. One of the most prominent international evaluations of universities, the rankings comprise more than 1,500 institutions from more than 100 nations. At number 354 in the world, Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad continues to be the best university in Pakistan. The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), tied at 371st, comes next. Other universities in the top 600 are Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) at number 555 and the University of Punjab at number 542. A number of criteria are used by the QS rankings to assess institutions, such as sustainability performance, citations per faculty, international student and faculty presence, faculty-to-student ratio, employer reputation, and academic reputation. This is the complete list of Pakistani universities that were included in the rankings for 2026: 354 Quaid-e-Azam University 371 National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) 542 Universi…

Global rankings reveal grim outlook for Pakistan's universities According to the QS rankings, no Pakistani university has made it to the top 350 globally (Web Desk): Education plays a vital role in a nation's development and global standing, yet recent statistics by the QS World University Rankings 2025 reveal a concerning picture for Pakistan’s higher education sector. According to the QS rankings, no Pakistani university has made it to the top 350 globally. However, two federal institutions — Quaid-e-Azam University (ranked 354) and the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) — have managed to secure positions within the top 371 universities worldwide. Pakistan’s largest academic institution, the University of Karachi, placed within the 1,001 band, but it is the only university from Sindh to appear in the top 1,500, highlighting a regional disparity in higher education performance. Other Pakistani institutions featured include Punjab University (542), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) at 555, and the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad at 654. COMSATS University Islamabad ranks 664, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) …

No Pakistani University Ranked in QS Top 350 Universities 2027 Article Submitted By|19-Jun-2026| Views:47 Pakistan's higher education sector has once again failed to secure a position among the world's top 350 universities in the latest QS World University Rankings 2027. The newly released rankings show that the country's highest-ranked institutions have slipped further down the global list, highlighting ongoing challenges in academic competitiveness, research performance, and international recognition. According to the latest rankings,Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, remains Pakistan's highest-ranked university but fell from 354th position last year to 381st this year. Similarly, the National University of Sciences and Technology(NUST)dropped from 371st place to 384th position globally. The decline means that no Pakistani university currently holds a place among the world's top 350 institutions, a benchmark often associated with leading centers of higher education and research. Despite the setback, Pakistan maintained a presence in the international rankings, with 18 universities included among 1,504 institutions evaluated worldwide. The rankings assess unive…

QS university rankings expose regional disparities in Pakistan's higher education <p>LAHORE: Eighteen Pakistani universities have secured places in the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings">QS World University Rankings 2027</a>, with Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) retaining its status as the country’s highest-ranked institution despite slipping in the global standings but no university managed to break into the world’s top 350.</p> <p>The latest rankings, released by UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), showed mixed performance of the Pakistani institutions with QAU as well as the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) registering slight declines while the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) posted improvement to emerge as the country’s third-highest ranked university.</p> <p>According to the rankings, QAU fell to joint 381 place from 354 last year while NUST slipped to 384 position from 371. However, the PIEAS staged a remarkable recovery, climbing from the 721-730 band in the previous edition to joint 560 place globally.</p> <p>The University of the Pu…

Universities in decline - The News International The recently released QS World University Rankings 2026 have, once again, exposed the deteriorating state of higher education in Pakistan. Shockingly, no Pakistani university made it to the top 350 institutions worldwide, a fact that should deeply concern every policymaker and educationist in the country. The top-ranked Pakistani institution, Quaid-e-Azam University, sits at 354. This indicates a large gap between Pakistan and the rest of the academic world. This situation raises tough but necessary questions for our education authorities. Why are our universities unable to meet global standards? Where is the investment in research, faculty training, innovation and international collaboration? Despite repeated promises of reform, our universities continue to struggle with outdated curricula, weak academic infrastructure and a lack of performance-based systems. If we do not address these core issues now, Pakistan’s competitiveness, economy and global standing will continue to decline. Kashif Shayari Karachi

Rankings show priorities <p>THE recently revealed <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2009327">QS World Universities Rankings 2027</a> have become a topic of considerable conversation for Pakistani social and print media. Reports and posts on the subject have mainly pointed out that no Pakistani university has been ranked among the world’s top 350 universities. The Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), at 381, is our top entry in the QS rankings. However, we should remember that a number of individual programmes — though not the overall university position — are ranked much higher. Nust, the University of Engineering &amp; Technology and the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute have engineering programmes ranked in the 100-200 range; Lums and IBA have similar rankings for economics, business and social science programmes; AKU is ranked high for medicine programmes.</p> <p>The rankings are, at best, a rough measure of quality. But they do reveal a lot. If we do not have a university in the top 350, it does say quite a bit about the priority accorded to education in Pakistan. And, knowing our budget allocations for education in general as well as higher education, and our other spending priorities, …