Universities in Nepal: The Complete List and Directory

Nepal's higher education is delivered through two kinds of degree-awarding bodies: full universities and autonomous health-science (medical) academies. As of the mid-2020s the country has more than a dozen universities and roughly six to eight medical academies, all recognised and part-funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The exact number keeps rising because Nepal's seven provinces have begun chartering their own provincial universities under the federal constitution, so any single count is a snapshot rather than a fixed figure.

For most of Nepal's modern history the widely quoted figure was eleven established universities plus a handful of health academies. The eleven with mature, nationwide campus networks are Tribhuvan University, Nepal Sanskrit University, Kathmandu University, Purbanchal University, Pokhara University, Lumbini Buddhist University, Agriculture and Forestry University, Mid-West University, Far Western University, Nepal Open University and Rajarshi Janak University. Newer provincial and specialised universities such as Gandaki University, Manmohan Technical University and the Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology have since been added to the list.

Every one of these institutions is created by its own Act of Parliament (or a provincial assembly for provincial universities) and then falls under the UGC for accreditation, grants and quality assurance. The UGC, an autonomous government body established under the University Grants Commission Act, 1993 (2050 BS) and functional from 1994 with its office at Sanothimi, Bhaktapur, is the single point of reference for the official roster of recognised institutions.

Tribhuvan University (TU), named after King Tribhuvan and established in 1959 (2016 BS) with its central campus at Kirtipur in the Kathmandu Valley, is Nepal's oldest, largest and most influential university. It is a fully public institution whose Chancellor is the Prime Minister of Nepal, with the Minister of Education serving as Pro-Chancellor and a Vice-Chancellor acting as the executive and academic head. For decades TU was effectively the only university in the country, and it still awards the largest number of degrees across almost every discipline.

It operates roughly sixty constituent (government-run) campuses, including central departments in Kirtipur, and grants affiliation to well over a thousand community and private colleges across all seven provinces. According to UGC statistics, TU alone enrolled about 491,000 students in 2023/24 — close to 78 percent of all higher-education students in Nepal — a share larger than every other university combined.

TU offers programs through faculties and institutes covering humanities and social sciences, management, education, law, science and technology, and the professional institutes of medicine, engineering, forestry, and agriculture and animal science. Because it is heavily subsidised by the state, TU remains the most affordable route to a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree for the majority of Nepali students, though the same scale brings challenges of over-enrolment, delayed examinations and results, and periodic disruption.

Kathmandu University (KU), established by an Act of Parliament in 1991 (2048 BS) and located at Dhulikhel in Kavrepalanchok District about 30 km east of Kathmandu, was Nepal's first privately managed but publicly chartered university. It is autonomous, not-for-profit and self-funding — it does not depend on regular government grants and instead runs largely on tuition and research income. KU is organised into schools, including Science, Engineering, Management, Medical Sciences, Education, Arts and Law, and is widely regarded for its programs in engineering, pharmacy, biotechnology and management.

Purbanchal University (PU), established in 1994 (2051 BS) with its headquarters near Biratnagar in Morang District, was created to expand access to higher education in eastern Nepal. It works mainly through a large network of affiliated colleges offering professional and technical programs in fields such as engineering, information technology, management, health sciences and law, and is one of the larger universities by enrolment after TU.

Pokhara University (PoU), established in 1997 under the Pokhara University Act, 2053 (1996) and based at Lekhnath near Pokhara in Kaski District, has built a strong reputation in management, engineering, health and allied sciences, and tourism-related studies. It runs a small set of constituent schools alongside dozens of affiliated colleges, and its BBA, MBA, engineering and nursing programs are popular choices for students across western and central Nepal.

Beyond the largest general universities, Nepal has a set of specialised and regional universities that serve particular disciplines or provinces. Nepal Sanskrit University — founded in December 1986 as Mahendra Sanskrit University and later renamed — is based at Beljhundi in Dang and is dedicated to Sanskrit language, Vedic studies, Ayurveda and traditional knowledge. Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), established in 2010 at Rampur in Chitwan, is the country's dedicated university for agriculture, veterinary science, forestry and fisheries, absorbing the former agriculture and forestry institutes of TU.

The federal restructuring of Nepal spurred regionally anchored universities. Mid-West University (formerly Mid-Western University), established in 2010 at Birendranagar in Surkhet, serves Karnali Province, while Far Western University (FWU), also established in 2010 at Bhimdatta (Mahendranagar) in Kanchanpur, serves Sudurpashchim Province. Lumbini Buddhist University in Rupandehi focuses on Buddhist philosophy and studies, and Nepal Open University, established in 2016 in Lalitpur, delivers degrees through open and distance-learning modes for working adults and those outside urban centres.

More recent additions reflect the provinces exercising their new powers to charter universities. Rajarshi Janak University (2017) is based in Janakpur, Madhesh Province; Gandaki University and Manmohan Technical University were both established around 2019 in Gandaki and Koshi provinces respectively; and the Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology has been set up as a specialised science-and-technology institution. Several other provincial universities are at various stages of establishment, which is why the national total continues to grow.

A distinctive feature of Nepal's higher education is the autonomous health-science academy: a hospital-based, degree-awarding institution that functions like a specialised medical university. These academies are created by their own Acts, run their own teaching hospitals, and award MBBS, BDS, BSc Nursing, and a wide range of postgraduate (MD, MS, MDS) and super-specialty programs, while remaining under UGC oversight for accreditation.

The B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Sunsari, established on 18 January 1993 as a Nepal–India cooperation and elevated to an autonomous health-sciences university in 1998, is the flagship of this group and serves eastern Nepal through a large teaching hospital. In the Kathmandu Valley, the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) is based at Bir Hospital and specialises in postgraduate and super-specialty training, while the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), established in 2008 in Lalitpur, is known for a community-oriented medical curriculum.

Other academies extend medical education into under-served regions: Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS) at Jumla, established in 2011, trains health workers for the remote mid-hills and Himalaya; Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences and Rapti Academy of Health Sciences serve Gandaki and Lumbini provinces respectively; and the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS) in Kathmandu trains both military and civilian health professionals. Together these academies are a major source of the country's doctors, dentists and nurses.

Every public university in Nepal is chartered by an Act that sets out its governance structure. In the standard model the Prime Minister is the Chancellor and the Minister of Education is the Pro-Chancellor, while a Vice-Chancellor, appointed for a fixed term, is the chief executive and academic head, supported by a Rector (academic affairs) and a Registrar (administration and examinations). Because these leadership posts turn over with government appointments, the individuals in office change frequently, but the structure itself is consistent across public universities.

The University Grants Commission sits above all of them as the coordinating and funding body. Established under the University Grants Commission Act, 1993, and headquartered at Sanothimi in Bhaktapur, the UGC channels government grants to public universities, maintains the official register of recognised institutions and campuses, sets quality-assurance standards, and runs the Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) programme that certifies individual campuses. For students and employers, UGC recognition is the practical test of whether a degree is legitimate.

It is important to distinguish a constituent campus from an affiliated college. A constituent campus is owned and run directly by the university, usually with government funding; an affiliated college is a separately owned community or private institution that teaches the university's syllabus and whose students sit its examinations and receive its degree. Most students in Nepal — especially outside TU's constituent campuses — actually study at affiliated colleges, which is why the affiliated-college network is central to how access is delivered.

According to the UGC's Education Management Information System (EMIS) report for 2023/24, about 633,000 students were enrolled across Nepal's national universities and academies, rising to roughly 661,000 when foreign-university-affiliated campuses inside Nepal are included. The gross enrolment ratio for the 18–22 age group stood at around 22 percent, with female participation (about 25 percent) notably higher than male, reflecting large-scale male out-migration for work and study.

The enrolment data reveal a heavily lopsided system. Tribhuvan University accounts for roughly 78 percent of all students, leaving every other university to share the remaining fifth — Purbanchal and Pokhara universities are the next largest, each in the single-digit percentages. This concentration means the health and efficiency of TU has an outsized effect on the entire country's higher education, from examination timetables to graduation rates.

Nepal's universities face persistent challenges: over-reliance on TU, delayed examinations and results, limited research funding, and a steady outflow of students abroad after Grade 12. The federal push to create provincial universities and specialised academies is partly a response, aiming to spread capacity across the country. For anyone comparing options, the practical checklist is the same: confirm the institution is UGC-recognised, check whether a program runs at a constituent campus or an affiliated college, and verify its Act and accreditation status on the UGC's official records.