BHU vs CAU: which is better?

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, was set up in 1916, is ranked #6 in NIRF 2025 and holds NAAC A. Central Agricultural University (CAU) is in Imphal, Manipur, was set up in 1993 and is in the NIRF 151-200 band. Both admit students through CUET UG, CUET PG, NET/JRF, so one set of scores works for both.

Quick verdict

BHU is ahead on

• BHU: better NIRF rank (#6 vs 151-200)
• BHU: more teachers (1,891 vs 382)
• BHU: more research funding (Rs. 206 crore (2024-25) vs Rs. 60.1 crore (2024-25))
• BHU: more PhDs awarded (738 (2024-25) vs 33 (2024-25))

CAU is ahead on

• CAU: fewer students per teacher (17 vs 8)
• CAU: higher median salary (2-year PG) (Rs. 9 lakh (2024-25) vs Rs. 10 lakh (2024-25))
• CAU: more of the PG batch placed (1,372 of 4,472 (31%) vs 76 of 217 (35%))

BHU vs CAU: full comparison

Sources: NIRF 2025 (Ministry of Education) and NAAC. Students, teachers, median salaries, placements and research grants are from the data each university filed with NIRF and published on its own website (open a university's profile for the PDF). Fees are compared only where they have been checked against the university's own prospectus. A tick marks the better value in a row.

Which one should you choose?

• Choose BHU if what matters most to you is: better NIRF rank (#6 vs 151-200); more teachers (1,891 vs 382); more research funding (Rs. 206 crore (2024-25) vs Rs. 60.1 crore (2024-25)), or you want to study in Varanasi.
• Choose CAU if what matters most to you is: fewer students per teacher (17 vs 8); higher median salary (2-year PG) (Rs. 9 lakh (2024-25) vs Rs. 10 lakh (2024-25)); more of the PG batch placed (1,372 of 4,472 (31%) vs 76 of 217 (35%)), or you want to study in Imphal.

Admission at both is mostly through the national entrance tests, so check each one's BHU admission and CAU admission pages for the courses and seats you want.

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AMU #10Aligarh Muslim UniversityAUAllahabad UniversityAUS #97Assam UniversityBBAU #37Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar UniversityBHU #6Banaras Hindu UniversityCAUCentral Agricultural UniversityCSUCentral Sanskrit UniversityCTUAPCentral Tribal University of Andhra PradeshCUAPCentral University of Andhra PradeshCUGCentral University of GujaratCUHCentral University of HaryanaCUHPCentral University of Himachal PradeshCUJCentral University of JammuCUJhCentral University of JharkhandCUKaCentral University of KarnatakaCUKCentral University of KashmirCUKeCentral University of KeralaCUOCentral University of OdishaCUP #77Central University of PunjabCURAJ #89Central University of RajasthanCUSBCentral University of South BiharCUTN #83Central University of Tamil NaduDHSGUDr. Hari Singh Gour UniversityRPCAUDr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture UniversityEFLUEnglish and Foreign Languages UniversityGSVGati Shakti VishwavidyalayaGGVGuru Ghasidas VishwavidyalayaHNBGUHemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal UniversityIMUIndian Maritime UniversityIGNOUIndira Gandhi National Open UniversityIGNTUIndira Gandhi National Tribal UniversityJMI #4Jamia Millia IslamiaJNU #2Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityMGAHVMahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi VishwavidyalayaMGCUMahatma Gandhi Central UniversityMUManipur UniversityMANUUMaulana Azad National Urdu UniversityMZU #82Mizoram UniversityNagUNagaland UniversityNUNalanda UniversityNSUNational Sanskrit UniversityNSU_MNational Sports UniversityNEHUNorth Eastern Hill UniversityPUPondicherry UniversityRGNAURajiv Gandhi National Aviation UniversityRGURajiv Gandhi UniversityRLBCAURani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural UniversitySSCTUSammakka Sarakka Central Tribal UniversitySLBSNSUShri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit UniversitySUSikkim UniversitySCUSindhu Central UniversitySAUSouth Asian UniversityTU #79Tezpur UniversityTrUTripura UniversityDU #5University of DelhiUoH #18University of HyderabadVBUVisva-Bharati University

AMU - Aligarh Muslim UniversityAU - Allahabad UniversityAUS - Assam UniversityBBAU - Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar UniversityBHU - Banaras Hindu UniversityCAU - Central Agricultural UniversityCSU - Central Sanskrit UniversityCTUAP - Central Tribal University of Andhra PradeshCUAP - Central University of Andhra PradeshCUG - Central University of GujaratCUH - Central University of HaryanaCUHP - Central University of Himachal PradeshCUJ - Central University of JammuCUJh - Central University of JharkhandCUKa - Central University of KarnatakaCUK - Central University of KashmirCUKe - Central University of KeralaCUO - Central University of OdishaCUP - Central University of PunjabCURAJ - Central University of RajasthanCUSB - Central University of South BiharCUTN - Central University of Tamil NaduDHSGU - Dr. Hari Singh Gour UniversityRPCAU - Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture UniversityEFLU - English and Foreign Languages UniversityGSV - Gati Shakti VishwavidyalayaGGV - Guru Ghasidas VishwavidyalayaHNBGU - Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal UniversityIMU - Indian Maritime UniversityIGNOU - Indira Gandhi National Open UniversityIGNTU - Indira Gandhi National Tribal UniversityJMI - Jamia Millia IslamiaJNU - Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityMGAHV - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi VishwavidyalayaMGCU - Mahatma Gandhi Central UniversityMU - Manipur UniversityMANUU - Maulana Azad National Urdu UniversityMZU - Mizoram UniversityNagU - Nagaland UniversityNU - Nalanda UniversityNSU - National Sanskrit UniversityNSU_M - National Sports UniversityNEHU - North Eastern Hill UniversityPU - Pondicherry UniversityRGNAU - Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation UniversityRGU - Rajiv Gandhi UniversityRLBCAU - Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural UniversitySSCTU - Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal UniversitySLBSNSU - Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit UniversitySU - Sikkim UniversitySCU - Sindhu Central UniversitySAU - South Asian UniversityTU - Tezpur UniversityTrU - Tripura UniversityDU - University of DelhiUoH - University of HyderabadVBU - Visva-Bharati University

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