Manipal Academy of Higher Education

How is Manipal Academy of Higher Education ranked in 2026?

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is ranked #206 in the QS World University Rankings Asia 2026 and sits in the 601-800 band of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, while its globally it is placed in the 851-900 band of the QS World University Rankings 2026. Nationally, MAHE's most recent NIRF 2025 results are the headline: it ranks 3rd among universities in India, 14th in the Overall category, 19th in Research and 5th in the newly introduced Sustainability category. As a deemed-to-be university with Institute of Eminence status, MAHE is consistently the highest-ranked private deemed institution in the country, taking the Outlook Deemed University No. 1 spot in 2025. The figures below give the aspirant a single, dated view of where MAHE stands on every major national and global table heading into the 2026 admission cycle.

Year-Wise Rankings

This table consolidates every major ranking MAHE holds across the 2024, 2025 and 2026 cycles, answering the core question: "What rank does MAHE actually hold on each table, and in which year?" Read it body-by-body. The NIRF rows (released August 2025) reflect national standing, while the QS and THE rows reflect international position. Where a global body publishes a band rather than a single number, the band is shown exactly as released.

The clearest takeaway is upward momentum on every front. In the year-on-year NIRF comparison, MAHE rose from University rank 4 (2024) to 3 (2025) and pushed its Research rank from 23 (2024) to 19 (2025), while holding firm at Overall rank 14 in both years. Globally, the THE band jumped a full tier from 801-1000 in 2025 to 601-800 in 2026, and the QS World band improved from 901-950 in 2025 to 851-900 in 2026. For an applicant, this means MAHE is not a static name but an institution actively climbing both Indian and international tables.

Ranking Trajectory of Manipal Academy of Higher Education

MAHE's trajectory points firmly upward across the 2024-2026 window. The single most significant move is in the NIRF University category, where MAHE climbed to rank 3 in 2025, up from rank 4 in 2024, placing it among the top three universities in India alongside the strongest central and state institutions. The Research story is just as telling: a six-place jump from 19th in 2025 versus 23rd in 2024, signalling rising publication output, citations and international collaboration. The debut of the NIRF Sustainability category in 2025 added a 5th-place finish, confirming that MAHE's strength is broad-based rather than confined to a single parameter.

Globally, the trajectory mirrors the national gains. The THE World University Rankings moved MAHE from the 801-1000 band in 2025 into the 601-800 band in 2026, a one-tier rise driven largely by improvements in research quality and citation impact. On the QS side, the World University band tightened from 901-950 in 2025 to 851-900 in 2026, and the QS Asia 2026 figure stands at #206. Taken together, the message for a 2026 aspirant is consistency with momentum: MAHE has held its Overall NIRF rank 14 across two consecutive years while simultaneously lifting its University, Research and global standings, retaining the Outlook No. 1 Deemed University crown throughout.

How Manipal Academy of Higher Education Compares

The table below positions MAHE against its closest verifiable peers on the same NIRF 2025 University-category scale, so an aspirant can see exactly where this deemed university sits relative to other private and deemed institutions. It answers the question: "Is MAHE genuinely a top-tier private university, or just a well-known name?" Read each row as a head-to-head on the most recent (2025) national table, the fairest like-for-like comparison available.

Against private and deemed peers, MAHE is comfortably the front-runner: its NIRF 2025 University rank of 3 places it ahead of other prominent deemed universities such as Amrita and VIT, and it is the only private deemed institution ranked No. 1 by Outlook in the Deemed University category in 2025. Its constituent Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT Manipal) independently ranked 59th in NIRF 2025 Engineering, reinforcing that the group's strength extends into discipline-specific tables. For an applicant weighing private options, MAHE's combination of a top-3 University rank and a top-15 Overall rank makes it the strongest verifiable choice in the deemed-university space for 2026.