Students Corner

List of India’s Top 10 Architecture Colleges for 2026 Aspirants : NIRF Rankings

NIRF rankings highlight India’s top 10 architecture colleges for 2026 aspirants, with IIT Roorkee securing the first position.

As students look beyond traditional fields and explore creative careers, architecture is gaining steady interest among aspirants preparing for the 2026 admission cycle. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) offers a structured way to compare top architecture institutions across India based on teaching quality, research, professional practice and overall performance. Admission to architecture courses in India is typically through exams like NATA and JEE (Paper 2), making the choice of college an important decision for students and parents. The NIRF rankings highlight institutions that consistently perform well in academics, design training and industry exposure.

According to the latest rankings, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee holds the No. 1 position in architecture with a score of 83.95. It is followed by National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut and IIT Kharagpur. The top ten list includes a mix of IITs, NITs and specialised planning and architecture institutions.

Top 10 Architecture Colleges in India (NIRF Ranking)

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee (Uttarakhand) — Score: 83.95

  2. National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kozhikode (Kerala) — Score: 77.89

  3. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur (West Bengal) — Score: 77.38

  4. Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur (Howrah, West Bengal) — Score: 68.37

  5. Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (Delhi) — Score: 67.15

  6. Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) — Score: 65.73

  7. National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela (Odisha) — Score: 65.72

  8. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi (Delhi) — Score: 65.11

  9. National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu — Score: 64.30

  10. Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur (Maharashtra) — Score: 61.22

For students considering architecture, rankings provide a starting point, but experts recommend evaluating additional factors such as studio culture, practical training, internships, faculty expertise and portfolio development opportunities before finalising a college.

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