DU Retains Top Spot Nationally in QS World University Rankings; A Dozen More Varsities Listed

The University of Dhaka (DU) has retained its position as the premier institution of higher education in Bangladesh, anchoring its spot within the top 600 globally in the newly released QS World University Rankings 2027. The annual evaluation, published on Thursday (June 18) by the London-based higher education analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), features a total of 13 higher education institutions from Bangladesh.

The national tally includes eight public universities, four private universities, and one international university, showing a steady representation of Bangladeshi academia on the global stage.

The elite tier of Bangladeshi higher education remains unchanged, with the top three domestic institutions mirroring their performances from the previous year's evaluation cycle.

The University of Dhaka stands alone at the apex of the domestic table, securely maintaining its global bracket within the top 600. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) clinched the second position nationally, placing in the 711 to 720 global ranking bracket.

North South University (NSU) secured the third position nationally, while placing in the 901 to 950 bracket globally, which cements its status as the top-ranking private university in the country. This marks the consecutive year that these three institutions have successfully positioned themselves within the world's top 1,000 universities.

Beyond the top three, ten more higher education institutions from Bangladesh made the prestigious list, highlighting a competitive mix between historic public campuses and emerging private research hubs.

Following North South University, Brac University ranked fourth nationally, followed closely by Daffodil International University (DIU) in fifth place, and American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) in the sixth spot.

The remaining positions on the national table were dominated by specialized public and regional institutions. Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) occupied the seventh position, with Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) securing eighth.

The Gazipur-based Islamic University of Technology (IUT), an international university managed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), ranked ninth. Jahangirnagar University (JU) claimed the tenth spot, followed by Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) in eleventh, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in twelfth, and the University of Rajshahi (RU) rounding out the national table in thirteenth place.

The global iteration of the QS World University Rankings 2027 evaluated 1,504 universities from across the globe based on key performance metrics including academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, employment outcomes, and international student diversity.