Best Engineering Colleges In India

Engineering is one of the most favoured fields in India. More than 50% of science students opt for Engineering after completing 10+2. In India, there are more than 4000 engineering colleges offering diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate courses in Engineering. Engineering is the most demanding course in India. Every year, India produces lakhs of Engineering graduates. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education under the Department of Higher Education. All the engineering colleges must get the approval of the AICTE in order to provide technical education in India.

Every year, lakhs of students take the entrance exam, but only a few are admitted to the IITs and NITs. The entrance exams to IITs and NITs are considered one of the toughest examinations in the world. Admission to the top engineering colleges is done through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Mains and Advance) for undergraduate engineering courses and the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) for postgraduate engineering courses.

The Engineering Colleges in India offer Engineering courses in different engineering branches. The most common engineering branches in India are Computer science and engineering, Electronics and Communication engineering, Electrical and electronic engineering, Mechanical engineering, Civil engineering and Chemical engineering.

Candidates seeking to pursue engineering after completing their school education must choose an engineering college based on various factors, including NIRF ranking, infrastructure, placements, and more. Choosing the right engineering college is a confusing and time-consuming process. Hence, we have provided the list of the best engineering colleges one can find in India.

Best Engineering Colleges in India

1) IIT Madras - Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Tamil Nadu

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, or IIT Madras was founded in the year 1959. It is the most prestigious Engineering institution in India. It is recognised as an institute of national importance. The institute is ranked 1st by the National Institutional Ranking Framework, or NIRF. A total of 121 undergraduate, postgraduate, and Doctoral courses are offered by IIT Madras in Engineering, Science, Humanities, and Management.

IIT Madras conducts Shaastra, an annual technical festival, Saarang, an annual social and cultural festival, and other departmental festivals every year on its campus. IIT Madras has residential facilities, temples, bank branches, hospital, shopping centres, food shops, gym, sleeping room, and cricket, football, hockey, and badminton stadiums inside its campus. The campus of IIT Madras is one of the biggest college campuses in the country, occupying 617 acres of land.

2) IIT Delhi - Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, or IIT Delhi, was established in the year 1961. It was the 23rd IIT created by the Government of India. The institute comes under the Institute of National Importance. The institute is ranked 2nd in Engineering, 3rd in Research, and 4th in Management by NIRF. IIT Delhi is well known for its wide variety of Engineering programmes and excellent placement records.

Tryst is the annual cultural fest of IIT Delhi and Rendezvous is the annual cultural fest of IIT Delhi. The campus is spread over 325 acres of land. The campus of IIT Delhi is divided into four zones-Student Residential Zone, Faculty and Staff Residential Zone, and Student Recreational Area, which includes the Student Activity Center (SAC), football stadium, cricket ground, basketball courts, hockey fields, lawn tennis courts, and swimming pool, Academic Zone, which includes department offices, lecture theatres, libraries, and workshops.

3) IIT Bombay - Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, popularly known as IIT Bombay, was founded in the year 1958 by the Government of India. The institute was included in the Institute of National Importance in 1961. It is ranked 3rd by NIRF in the Engineering category. IIT Bombay offers B.Tech in 12 specializations. The institute is widely regarded as a world leader in engineering education and research.

IIT Bombay Techfest is the annual science and technology festival of IIT Bombay, and Mood Indigo is the annual cultural festival of IIT Bombay. Both of these festivals are held in December every year. The campus of IIT Bombay is built on 545 acres of land. The campus is divided into clusters of buildings.

4) IIT Kanpur - Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) was established by an Act of Parliament by the Government of India in 1960. It is a public institution offering courses in Engineering and other disciplines. The government declared the institute as an institute of national importance under the Institutes of Technology Act. The institute is ranked 4th in the Engineering category by NIRF. IIT Kanpur was the first institute to offer computer education.

Admission to undergraduate Engineering courses in IIT Kanpur is done through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), and admission to postgraduate Engineering courses in IIT Kanpur is done through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). The lush-green campus of IIT Kanpur is spread across 1055 acres with about 14,000 inhabitants, including faculty members, students, staff, and helping hands. The campus is well-equipped with infrastructure that caters to the academic, culinary, residential, recreational, shopping and other needs.

5) IIT Kharagpur - Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, or IIT Kharagpur, is an institute of national importance established in the year 1951 by the Government of India. The institute is ranked 6th overall and 5th in the Engineering category by NIRF. Engineering, Management, Law, Architecture, and Humanities are the institute's core areas of education and research. IIT Kharagpur is the only IIT that offers law programs.

IIT Kharagpur organises a techno-management festival every year known as Kshitij. The annual socio-cultural fest of IIT Kharagpur is called Spring Fest. The IIT Kharagpur campus spans 2,100 acres and includes academic areas, schools, boy and girl hostels, professor and staff quarters, playgrounds, restaurants, auditoriums, and theaters. 

6) IIT Roorkee - Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, also called IIT Roorkee, is the oldest IIT established in India. It was first established as the College of Civil Engineering during the British Raj in India in 1847. In 1854, it was renamed the Thomason College of Civil Engineering. In 1949, it was renamed University of Roorkee, and in 2001, it was renamed IIT Roorkee. The institute has 23 academic departments offering programmes in Engineering, Applied Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences and Management.

The fests conducted by IIT Roorkee include Cognizance (a technical festival), Thomso (cultural festival), Sangram (sports festival) and National Social Summit (social festival). IIT Roorkee has a total campus area of 365 acres.

7) IIT Guwahati - Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, or IIT Guwahati, is the sixth IIT established in India. It was established in 1994. IIT Guwahati is ranked 8th in overall category and 7th in Engineering Category by NIRF. IIT Guwahati offers 57 undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral courses in different disciplines, which include Engineering, Management, Sciences, and Humanities.

IIT Guwahati festivals include Alcheringa, the annual festival, Techniche the annual techno-management festival and Udgam, the annual entrepreneurship summit and Research Conclave. IIT Guwahati campus is located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra river and is considered the most beautiful campus in India. The total campus area of IIT Guwahati is 700 acres.

8) NIT Trichy - National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu

NIT Trichy, or the National Institute of Technology Trichy, is a public technical university in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It was initially founded as the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirapalli, in 1964. The college was renamed as the National Institute of Technology Trichy in 2003. The institute is recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007. The institute is ranked 9th in the Engineering category and the 1st among the NITs by NIRF.

NIT Trichy conducts three annual festivals, namely, Festember, the national annual cultural festival, Pragyan, the international techno management festival and Nittfest, the annual inter-departmental cultural competition. The total campus area of NIT Trichy is 800 acres.

9) IIT Hyderabad - Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, or IIT Hyderabad, was founded in the year 2008. It is one of the eight young IITs. It is a public technical research university and an institute of national importance. NIRF has ranked IIT Hyderabad 8th in the Engineering category and 31st in the overall category. IIT Hyderabad witnessed a 77.29% percentage of placements with an average package of INR 20.7 lakh per annum in 2022. More than 138 companies visited the campus for recruitment. Some of the top recruiters include Uber, JP Morgan, Microsoft, and Apple.

The techno-cultural festival known as ELON is conducted by IIT Hyderabad every year and an inter-institutional technical festival known as ηvision is also conducted by IIT Hyderabad. IIT Hyderabad's total campus is located on 576 acres of land.

10) NIT Surathkal - National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Karnataka

National Institute of Technology Surathkal, also known as NITK Surathkal, is one of the 31 NITs in India. The institute was initially established as Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC) in 1960. Today it is called NIT Surathkal and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance. The institute is ranked 46th in the overall category and 17th in the engineering category.

The campus of NIT Surathkal is spread over an area of 295.35 acres. The campus includes residential areas for staff and students, cooperative society, marketing center, SBI and Canara bank branches with ATM facilities, Central library and reading halls, Central Computer centre and more.

11) Graphic Era University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Graphic Era University is Deemed to be University and was established in 1993. The university is accredited by NAAC with Grade "A+" and is recognised by UGC, AICTE, and AIU. It holds the top rank in the private universities list of Uttarakhand. GEU offers several Undergraduate, Post Graduate and Doctoral courses in engineering branches along with other courses. The Most Popular course at Graphic Era University is BTech (CSE)-Computer Science and Engineering, with the highest placement records.

Graphic Era University has two campuses, namely, Graphic Era Hill University and Graphic Era deemed University. Both campuses have laboratories, a conference hall, a computer center, a hostel, a library, an internet-enabled campus, a computer center, a guest house, and a canteen.

12) UPES - University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, popularly known as UPES, is a famous university located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It is one of the highly ranked universities for Engineering studies in Uttarakhand. The university was established in 2003. It has various specialisations in different engineering branches. The Faculty members and staff are well qualified and experienced. UPES also has international students from various different countries like Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), etc. UPES is best known for its placement records and high educational quality.

UPES has a 44-acre campus in the lush and verdant environs of Dehradun with the best infrastructure and campus facilities. UPES has two campuses called Energy Campus and Knowledge Campus. Admission to engineering courses is done through a national engineering entrance test or a university-conducted engineering entrance test.

13) Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal

Jadavpur University is a public technical university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in the year 1905 as Bengal Technical Institute, and later, in 1955, it was transformed into Jadavpur University. The University is ranked 17th in the University category and 12th in Engineering Category by NIRF. This university has affiliated institutes such as J D Birla Institute and the Institute of Business Management. Jadavpur University offers several courses at the UG, PG, and doctoral levels. The courses are offered in the disciplines of arts, science, engineering, and technology. 

Jadav University has two campuses, one is located in Jadavpur and another in Salt Lake, Kolkata. The total campus area of both campuses is 84 acres.

14) VIT Vellore - Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Vellore Institute of Technology, also known as VIT, is a popular Technical college in Tamil Nadu, founded in the year 1984. It is an eminent institute offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Engineering, Science, Computer application and law. It is ranked 11th by NIRF in the Engineering category and accredited by NAAC with grade "A++".

VIT campus is spread over a large area of 372 acres. It has four campuses. VIT Vellore conducts the VIT Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE) for BTech and the VIT Masters Entrance Examination (VITMEE) for MTech every year.

15) DIT University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

DIT University is a premier educational institution in Dehradun. DIT offers a variety of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes in various branches of engineering. DIT University, located in Dehradun, was founded in 1998. Due to its excellence in education and research, the Uttarakhand State Government designated DIT as a State Private University in 2013. The flagship programme of DIT University is BTech Mechanical Engineering.

DIT University conducts cultural and sports events every year. Youthopia is the annual cultural and technical inter-college festival of DIT University. Sphurti is the annual sports competition of DIT University. DIT University is set across 25 acres of verdant campus in the Mussoorie foothills, with facilities such as a 2-acre student field, parking, and other amenities.

16) Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Uttaranchal Institute of Technology was established in the year 2013 in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand. The University is a private university consisting of a group of institutes, which include Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal Institute of Management, Uttaranchal Institute of Technology, Uttaranchal Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Agriculture, School of Applied and Life Sciences, Uttaranchal School of Computing Sciences, Uttaranchal School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Uttaranchal School of Hotel & Hospitality Management, School of Liberal Arts, and Uttaranchal College of Nursing. The University is accredited with a NAAC Grade of "A+".

Uttaranchal University has a campus area of 70 acres, providing all the amenities. The campus includes the Administrative Block, Academic Blocks, Laboratories, Computer Centre, Central Library, Moot Court, Auditorium, Guest House, Shopping Arcade, Food Court, Cafeteria, a series of hostel buildings and the sprawling artistically landscaped lawns with rare flora.

17) Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The university was established in 1978. It is named after the late Dr. C.N. Annadurai, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and accredited by NAAC with Grade "A". The university was formed by bringing together and integrating four well-known technical institutions in Madras, namely, the College of Engineering, Alagappa College of Technology, Madras Institute of Technology, and the School of Architecture and Planning.

The University's campus extends over 189 acres of area. The Madras Institute of Technology at Chrompet is the second campus of the university, which has an area of 52 acres. The third campus of the university is 5 acres and located at Taramani, Chennai.

18) Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh

Amity University is a private university located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The University was established in 2005 by an Act of the State Legislature of Uttar Pradesh. Amity University offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral courses in regular and distance learning modes. The University offers more than 100 programmes in Engineering, Science, Arts, Commerce, Management, Design, Law and other disciplines. The university is accredited by NAAC with Grade "A+" and is ranked 30th in the Engineering category by NIRF.

Amity University has campuses in different cities in India. The campuses of the university are found in Noida, Lucknow, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Gwalior, Mumbai, Kolkata, Greater Noida, Ranchi, and Raipur. Amity University also has campuses in foreign countries.

19) BITS Pilani - Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Rajasthan

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, popularly known as BITS Pilani, is a deemed university in Pilani, Rajasthan. BITS Pilani was founded in 1964. The institute is supported by the Aditya Birla Group. The University offers higher education in Engineering, Science and Management disciplines.

BITS Pilani's total campus area is 328 acres. The University has campuses in Goa, Hyderabad, Dubai, and Mumbai. BITS Pilani became the first international deemed university after expansion to a campus in Dubai. The Admission to BITS pilani is done through All India entrance test BITSAT (BITS Admission test) conducted by the BITS Pilani.

20) IIT Mandi - Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, or IIT Mandi, was established in 2009. It is one of the eight new generation IITs established by the Government of India. The institute is located in the Kamand valley, Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh. IIT Mandi is ranked 43rd in the overall category and 31th in the engineering category by NIRF. IIT Mandi has four schools-the School of Computing and Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, School of Engineering and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

IIT Mandi has a total campus area of 510 acres. The campus is divided into two campuses, namely the north campus and the south campus. The institute offers sports, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities also. The school conducts annual student festivals such as Xpecto-Science and Technology Festival, Exodia-technical cum cultural festival, Rannneeti-annual inter-college sports festival, Astrax-inter college astronomy meet, Ruvaan-inter college library festival, and Frosttrack-an open hackathon.

21) DBIT - Dev Bhoomi Institute of Technology, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Dev Bhoomi Institute of Technology was established in 2005. It is famously called DBIT. Dev Bhoomi Institute of Technology is one of the premier engineering colleges in Dehradun. It is part of Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand University. Within over 15 years of existence, the institute has established a standard in engineering education and is now known as the top placement engineering college in Uttarakhand. DBIT has state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities, experienced faculties, and the latest engineering courses as per market need. DBIT offers various diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate engineering courses.

DBIT college campus is spread over 42 acres of land and is located in a tranquil environment and picturesque location in the foothills of the Himalayas. Admission to DBIT is based on the rank secured by a candidate in JEE, UKSEE, or any state government recognised engineering entrance exam. Postgraduate admission is based on BTech/MCA/MSc percentage.

22) SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

SRM Institute of Science and Technology was founded in 1985 as SRM Engineering College. It received deemed status in 2002. The institute offers various courses in Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Management, Science, Humanities, Law, and Agricultural Sciences. It also has international relations with more than 50+ institutes and organisations like Harvard Business School, Kennedy Public School (Harvard University), MIT, Stanford, LSE, UC Berkeley, and Cambridge, to name a few.

SRM Institute of Science and Technology has six campuses, four in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh and one in Delhi NCR. Admission to engineering programmes is done through an admission test known as the SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination (SRMJEEE).

23) Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology was established in 1956 by Karam Chand Thapar. It is a private university in Patiala city in Punjab State. It was formerly known as Thapar University. It offers 20 courses in the following areas: Arts and Humanities, Computer Applications and Information Technology, Animation and Design, Management and Business Administration, and Sciences. The institute is accredited by NAAC with a grade of A+.

The University is built on 250 acres of land with 2 campuses and 6 schools. Admission to Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology is done through an Entrance Examination and class 12th percentage.