7 Top Universities In Pakistan Recognized By HEC

Pakistan is seeing a surge in the number of people pursuing higher education. The number of universities and other degree-granting institutions continues to rise. There are around 8,000 international students, 23 state institutions, and 16 private universities in the city. Currently, more than 28% of the population is enrolled in a university. You don’t need a work visa to work here after graduation, but the issue is that firms and ministries tend to reserve employment for well-positioned individuals and citizens from well-to-do families, making it difficult for people from low-income households to get work. As a result, some graduates decide to seek employment outside of the country.

Table of Contents

Best 7 Top Universities In Pakistan, HEC Recognized Universities

Quaid-i-Azam University

The University of Quaid-i-Azam Islamabad Institution, formerly known as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded in 1967 as the Institution of Islamabad, it was primarily devoted to the study of postgraduate education but grew into an interdisciplinary university providing undergraduate and postgraduate education throughout the 1980s.

The university has developed to become Islamabad’s biggest university, with about 13,000 students enrolled as of 2015. The institution is located on a 1700-acre (or 6.9-km2) campus in the Margalla foothills. QAU is one of Pakistan’s biggest and best-ranked public universities, with four faculties and nine associated research centers.

In 2020, it will be ranked between 510 and 520 overall, with 225th, 225th, and 125th in the Physics, Mathematics, and Agriculture departments, respectively. In emerging economies, it will be ranked below 100, which is likely to be prestigious, and it will also be ranked 111th in Asia by the QS World University Rankings, with its regional publications ranking QAU among 120 in Asia in 2013. In its 2020 rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed QAU between 401 and 500 internationally and in the top 75 in Asia.

The UN, the University of Tokyo, and the ICTP are among the foreign institutions with which the university collaborates intellectually. Since its founding, it has been one of the most popular colleges in the nation, with notable personalities and intellectuals among its present and past staff, researchers, and graduates. Maleeha Lodhi, Nasim Zehra, Shamshad Akhtar, Suhail Zubairy, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Farzana Aslam, Tasneem Zehra, and Salma Zahid are among those who have been named. Professor Muhammad Ali is the current president of the institution.

The government of Pakistan created the University of Islamabad on July 22, 1967. In 1976, the university was renamed Quaid-i-Azam University in honor of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who turned 100 years old that year. However, the university’s name was spelled differently, with “I” instead of “e” for Ezfe, which connects the two terms in Jinnah’s title, Quaid-e-Azam.

At the outset, the university provided Ph.D. and MPhil teaching and research programs, and subsequently, Master’s programs. Undergraduate programs are currently available at the university. At Quaid-i-Azam University, there are four faculties and 38 departments, institutes, schools, and centers.

University of Punjab

The Punjab Institution, often known as the University of Punjab, is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The Senate House, also known as the Punjab Institution Old Campus in Lahore, was built in 1911 by architect Bhai Ram Singh. Punjab University is Pakistan’s oldest public university. The university was initially created by the British Government after holding the inaugural conference for establishing higher education institutions in October 1882 at Simla.

It now has campuses in Gujranwala, Jhelum, and Khanspur. The British colonial rulers created Punjab Institution as the fourth university in the Indian subcontinent; the previous three universities were built in various regions of British India.

There are 45,678 students on campus (27,907 morning students, 16,552 evening students, and 1,219 diploma students). There are 83 academic departments, research centers, and institutes spread among the university’s 13 faculties. The HEC ranked Punjab University first among large multi-faculty institutions in 2012.[8] The university’s graduates and past employees include two Nobel Laureates. In addition, the institution is a member of the United Kingdom’s Association of Commonwealth Universities. The institution moved from 232nd to 193rd place in QS World Universities Rankings’ most current rankings of Asian universities, an improvement of 39 places. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019, it ranks 251–300 in Agriculture and Forestry, 501–550 in Physics and Astronomy, and 501–550 in Chemistry.

Wood’s telegram in 1854 sparked the formation of the University of Punjab. The originator was Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. Unlike the three previously created universities, which were just examining bodies, the University of Punjab was founded as both a teaching and an examining body.

From its founding in 1882 until 1947, the university served the educational requirements of the whole pre-partition Punjab area. In 1882, Mohindra College in Patiala became the first higher education institution to join it, followed by St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. It was separated into two independent universities in the various nations after partition in 1947, with exclusively Pakistani campuses. Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, is the name of the university’s Indian branch.

In 1962, the Institute of Administrative Sciences was founded. Many significant institutions that were formerly connected with the university, such as Government College University in Lahore and Medical and Engineering Colleges, have become independent universities. Prof. Arthur Compton, who developed the Compton effect, was a professor at the university and its associated campus, Government College University, in Lahore, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1927.

National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST)

The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) is a public research university in Pakistan that is administered by the Pakistan Armed Forces. Its main campus is in Islamabad. Undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as doctoral and professional degrees, are available at the university. It was established in 1991 to meet the demand for commissioned officers by combining engineering colleges and schools from the Pakistan Armed Forces. Later, it was transformed into a public research university, with its main campus in Islamabad, to promote science and technology in Pakistan.

NUST was established to provide high-quality technical education for Pakistan’s rapid industrialization. It was modeled after an American university and places a strong emphasis on laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. It has subsequently played a vital role in the establishment of standards in engineering, mathematics, and technology education in Pakistan, and it is highly recognized for its innovation and academic strength, making it one of Pakistan’s most prominent institutions of higher learning. A National Science and Technology Park, certified by the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), is also under construction at the university.

University of Agriculture (UAF)

The Institution of Agriculture (UAF) in Faisalabad, Pakistan, is a public research university. UAF is South Asia’s oldest and most renowned agricultural institute. In 2015, the Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) (HEC) rated it fourth in Pakistan and first in the discipline of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences. It was also ranked at No. 127 in the categories of Life Science and Agriculture Science (Shanghai Ranking 2019). Pakistan’s employability rating gave this institution a strong reputation. In terms of research capacity, the university is among Pakistan’s top five universities. The Vice-Chancellor of the University is Prof. DR. Iqrar Ahmad Khan.

The Faisalabad University of Agriculture is a university in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1906 as undivided Punjab’s first major school of advanced agricultural education.

Pakistan was mostly an agricultural nation when it gained independence in 1947. Despite later industrialization and progress, agriculture remains the backbone of the country’s economy. Following independence, Pakistan’s government established the National Commissions on Food and Education to improve the country’s agrarian system and devise strategies for maximizing agricultural potential. The commissions advocated the development of a research and educational agriculture university. In 1961, it was upgraded from the previous Punjab Agricultural College and Research Institute. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Louis Dane, the then Lieutenant and Governor of Punjab, in 1906, making it the first university created by the British Empire.

The 1,950-acre campus is a mix of the past and the contemporary. The new campus is lush green, with monolithic blocks constructed in a contemporary manner. Traditional Muslim architecture may be seen on the ancient campus. The main campus is located in the city center, around 2 kilometers from the city center and clock tower (12 kilometers northeast of Faisalabad International Airport).

The University of Alaska owns and manages key cultural assets such as the Zoology Museum, the UAF Art Gallery, and the University Library. More than 800 professors work on the university’s faculty.

At the institution, boys’ and females’ hostels are available. It has a capacity of about 15,000 pupils and 12,000-day scholars. The Jinnah Hostel (named after Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah), Iqbal Hall, Fatima Jinnah Hostel, and Hailey Hall are among the best hostels in the city.

Aga Khan University

Aga Khan University is a not-for-profit school and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, which was founded in 1983 as Pakistan’s first private university. The university expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan in 2000.

AKU was founded as a health-sciences institution. It is one of Pakistan’s and East Africa’s major private healthcare providers. AKU hospitals were the first in those areas to be recognized by Joint Commission International, a non-profit organization established in the United States.

The university has lately launched programs in teacher education, Islamic civilizations, journalism, early childhood development, and public policy. The University wants to develop an undergraduate liberal arts program and build other graduate professional schools shortly to educate future leaders in a variety of professions.

The Aga Khan University is a global institution with campuses throughout Central and South Asia, the African Great Lakes region, Europe, and the Middle East. The university in Pakistan has an 84-acre campus with a hospital and two on-campus male and female dorms, each having a capacity of 300 students. It contains an Olympic-standard swimming pool, cricket practice nets, tennis courts, an indoor gymnasium with hardwood flooring, squash courts, and gyms, making it one of Pakistan’s greatest sports and rehabilitation centers. It contains running tracks, as well as cricket and football fields.

COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI)

COMSATS Institution Islamabad (CUI) is a public university in Pakistan that was formerly known as the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT). It is a multi-campus institution with its main campus in Islamabad. In the most recent QS Subject Rankings 2021, Electrical and Chemical Engineering at COMSATS are ranked first in Pakistan. The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South oversees COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI).

The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) founded the university in 1998, and the government of Pakistan handed it its first charter in August 2000. In October 2015, Palestine became the 23rd member of the COMSATS. S. M. Junaid Zaidi is the university’s founder rector, and he served the institution till March 2017. The office of the rector had been empty for over three years before Muhammad Tabassum Afzal was appointed in July 2020. He was entrusted with guiding the university through its transformation from an institute of information technology to a full-fledged university with a new governance structure. Comsats was envisioned as Pakistan’s first and only dedicated information technology institute. Previously known as the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), it was turned into a full-fledged university in April 2018 by an Act of Parliament known as the COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI).

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS)

In Islamabad, Pakistan, the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) is a public research university. The institution is based on worldwide standards and places a great emphasis on scientific growth in nuclear research and related STEM subjects, as well as medical sciences.

Founded in 1967 as Reactor School under the sponsorship of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission to support and manage the country’s nuclear energy infrastructure, the institute began its educational activities with the affiliation of Quaid-e-Azam University, then changed its name to Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) in 1976, and became an independent public university in 1997. The PIEAS was given doctoral degree-granting institution status in 2000. PIEAS has roughly 135 full-time faculty members and is located on a 150-acre (0.61 km2; 0.23 sq mi) campus. According to the Higher Education Commission, PIEAS is Pakistan’s first premier engineering university.

In 2021, the QS World University Rankings placed it 398th in the world, while the QS Asia University Rankings ranked it 3rd in Pakistan and 176th in Asia. In QS’s top 50 under 50, it is rated 47th.

The PIEAS complex is about 360 acres in size. Nine academic buildings, eight workshops, liquid nitrogen and oxygen manufacturing facilities, 30 labs, lecture halls, a video-conferencing facility, conference rooms, and a 400-seat auditorium make up the physical structure.

A state-of-the-art computer center with 200 machines is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for computational needs. PIEAS is a member of the PERN network and has access to the HEC Digital Library, which may be accessed from any of PIEAS’ 1500 nodes. Even in student hostels, internet access is accessible. The PIEAS library has over 15,000 artifacts in its collection and subscribes to both technical and academic magazines. To make it easier for students to use the PIEAS Library, the hours have been extended. A new library building is being built.

Conclusion

Year after year, the higher education commission releases a rating of the best universities in Pakistan; the institutions mentioned above are among the top seven in the country.

What Is The HEC Ranking?

The HEC rating is based on five factors, each of which has a defined weighting, and the results are added together to get an aggregate score out of one hundred. The aggregate score is used to establish the rankings of different institutions. Depending on the sub-components, each of the criteria and their weightings is determined.

Which Is The Biggest University Of Pakistan?

The Karachi University of Science and Technology Affectionately known as the University of Karachi, it was established in 1951 and has grown to include 1,200 acres with 800 professors who educate 24,000 students. The University of Karachi is also rated at the 701+ level globally. Researchers at the institution perform high-quality research and maintain a massive library with more than 400,000 volumes going back to 1600.