National Institute of Technology Calicut

How is National Institute of Technology Calicut ranked in 2026?

National Institute of Technology Calicut's strongest national positions on record are India Today Engineering 2025 Rank #17 (score 72.00) and NIRF Engineering 2025 Rank #21 (score 66.66), with a standout NIRF Architecture 2025 Rank #2 (score 72.50). In NIRF 2025 the institute was also placed 45th in the Overall category and 85th in Management. NIRF 2026 rankings have not yet been released, so the NIRF 2025 cycle remains the latest official benchmark for this college, while India Today's 2025 list places NIT Calicut among the top 17 engineering institutions in India. Established in 1961 as a Regional Engineering College and upgraded to NIT status in 2002, NIT Calicut is consistently the highest-ranked NIT in Kerala and one of the top-tier NITs nationally. The figures below are drawn from the India Today and NIRF cycles for 2024 and 2025 so applicants can read both the levels and the direction of travel.

Year-Wise Rankings

This table consolidates National Institute of Technology Calicut's verified ranks across the two ranking bodies our data covers - India Today and NIRF - for 2024 and 2025, together with the NIRF 2025 category placements that the institute itself highlighted. It answers the practical question an aspirant asks: "What exact rank and score did NIT Calicut get, and in which year and category?" Read it row by row; each row names the year, the ranking body, the category, the rank and the published score, so a figure is never detached from its year. Use the Engineering rows to compare like-for-like across 2024 and 2025, and the 2025 category rows to see how broad the institute's strength is beyond engineering.

The clearest takeaway is that NIT Calicut sits firmly inside India's top 20-25 engineering institutions on both lists, with India Today (#17, 2025) placing it a few rungs higher than NIRF (#21, 2025). The most remarkable number is the NIRF Architecture 2025 Rank #2 (score 72.50) - a national runner-up position that few NITs achieve in any discipline. The Overall #45 and Management #85 placements in NIRF 2025 show the institute is a serious multi-discipline player, though engineering and architecture remain its calling cards for prospective applicants.

Ranking Trajectory of National Institute of Technology Calicut

Across 2024 and 2025, National Institute of Technology Calicut has held a stable, top-tier band rather than swinging wildly. On India Today's Engineering list it was #15 (score 72.80) in 2024 and #17 (score 72.00) in 2025, a marginal two-place easing while staying comfortably inside the top 17. On NIRF Engineering it was #16 (score 68.10) in 2024 and #21 (score 66.66) in 2025; the scores in both bodies stayed in a tight, elite range, signalling consistency rather than volatility.

The headline movement in NIRF 2025 is breadth. The institute climbed in the NIRF Overall category to #45 in 2025 and secured the NIRF Architecture #2 (score 72.50) position in 2025, with its Department of Architecture and Planning long recognised among the very best in the country. The one soft spot is Management, placed #85 in NIRF 2025. For an aspirant, the signal is clear: NIT Calicut is a durably ranked top-tier NIT whose engineering standing is locked in the top 20-25 nationally, whose architecture programme is genuinely best-in-class, and whose overall institutional rank improved to #45 in 2025. With NIRF 2026 rankings not yet released, the 2025 cycle is the most current official picture available.

How National Institute of Technology Calicut Compares

This section positions National Institute of Technology Calicut against its natural peer set - the older, top-tier NITs - using only verifiable ranks. The comparison answers the question "Where does NIT Calicut sit among the leading NITs and in international rankings?" Read the engineering ranks as the primary yardstick, since that is where the largest applicant pool competes, and treat the architecture and international figures as differentiators. The table below pairs NIT Calicut's verified 2025 NIRF and India Today positions with its international QS standing.

Within the NIT system, a NIRF Engineering rank of #21 in 2025 places NIT Calicut among the leading NITs nationally, comfortably inside the group that competes for top engineering talent. Internationally, its QS World University Rankings 2026 position in the 651-700 band reflects a respectable global footprint, as commonly reported, though - as with most NITs - the institute's domestic NIRF and India Today standing is the more meaningful benchmark for Indian applicants. Its NIRF Architecture #2 (2025) is the figure that genuinely sets it apart from most peers.