Which is the top Research college in Chennai as per NIRF 2025?
IIT Madras leads the city list at rank #2.
NIRF 2025 · City ranking
Top Research Colleges in Chennai@elseTop Research colleges in Chennai: NIRF ranking 2025
4 Chennai institutions appear in the NIRF 2025 Research list, with national ranks, scores and cities. Use the list to explore college profiles and compare options.
IIT Madras leads the Chennai entries in 2025 at national rank 2 with a score of 82.99.
Chennai colleges featured across NIRF Research editions
These institutions appeared in the available Chennai lists from 2021 to 2025. Ownership uses our current classification; each entry shows its latest listed year and national rank.
Top Government Research colleges in Chennai
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras 2025 · National rank 2 · Listed this year
- Anna University 2025 · National rank 26 · Listed this year
Top Private Research colleges in Chennai
- Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences 2025 · National rank 13 · Listed this year
- SRM Institute of Science and Technology 2025 · National rank 25 · Listed this year
This page covers published NIRF entries, not every good institution in Chennai offering programmes in this category. An institution's absence does not mean it is a poor choice. Ranks are national Research ranks, not positions within Chennai.
Chennai Research ranking history
Explore Chennai institutions in the published NIRF Research lists by year. Every rank below is a national category rank, not a position within Chennai. A lower rank number is better.
Comparisons use the preceding available Research edition and the state and city recorded in each year's list. Newly listed means absent from the previous Chennai list, not necessarily a first NIRF appearance. Absence does not establish why an institution is missing, and movement alone does not explain changes in quality.
Highlights and changes in 2025
4 Chennai institutions appear in the 2025 published Research list. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is the highest-ranked Chennai entry at national rank 2 with a score of 82.99.
View full Chennai 2025 ranking with scores and college profiles
Major changes from 2024 to 2025
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences recorded the largest rise, moving from national rank 20 to 13, an improvement of 7 places. Anna University recorded the largest fall, moving from national rank 17 to 26. The table shows up to three biggest rises and three biggest falls. Equal movements are ordered by current rank.
Biggest Chennai ranking changes from 2024
3| 2025 rank | Institution | 2024 rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 20 | ↑ 7 places |
| 26 | Anna University | 17 | ↓ 9 places |
| 25 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 24 | ↓ 1 place |
Changes to the published list — 0 newly listed and 0 no longer listed
Newly present Chennai institutions in 2025
0No newly listed Chennai institutions in this comparison.
Chennai institutions not present in 2025
0Every Chennai entry in the earlier list remains present.
Chennai NIRF Research rankings 2024
4 Chennai institutions appear in the 2024 published Research list. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is the highest-ranked Chennai entry at national rank 2 with a score of 83.29.
Chennai institutions in NIRF Research 2024
4| 2024 rank | Institution | 2023 rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 2 | 83.29 |
| 17 | Anna University | 13 | 58.39 |
| 20 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 36 | 55.85 |
| 24 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 39 | 53.34 |
Major changes from 2023 to 2024
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences recorded the largest rise, moving from national rank 36 to 20, an improvement of 16 places. Anna University recorded the largest fall, moving from national rank 13 to 17. The table shows up to three biggest rises and three biggest falls. Equal movements are ordered by current rank.
Biggest Chennai ranking changes from 2023
3| 2024 rank | Institution | 2023 rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 36 | ↑ 16 places |
| 24 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 39 | ↑ 15 places |
| 17 | Anna University | 13 | ↓ 4 places |
Changes to the published list — 0 newly listed and 0 no longer listed
Newly present Chennai institutions in 2024
0No newly listed Chennai institutions in this comparison.
Chennai institutions not present in 2024
0Every Chennai entry in the earlier list remains present.
Chennai NIRF Research rankings 2023
4 Chennai institutions appear in the 2023 published Research list. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is the highest-ranked Chennai entry at national rank 2 with a score of 84.01.
Chennai institutions in NIRF Research 2023
4| 2023 rank | Institution | 2022 rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 2 | 84.01 |
| 13 | Anna University | 21 | 59.65 |
| 36 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 48 | 49.54 |
| 39 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 36 | 48.58 |
Major changes from 2022 to 2023
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences recorded the largest rise, moving from national rank 48 to 36, an improvement of 12 places. SRM Institute of Science and Technology recorded the largest fall, moving from national rank 36 to 39. The table shows up to three biggest rises and three biggest falls. Equal movements are ordered by current rank.
Biggest Chennai ranking changes from 2022
3| 2023 rank | Institution | 2022 rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 48 | ↑ 12 places |
| 13 | Anna University | 21 | ↑ 8 places |
| 39 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 36 | ↓ 3 places |
Changes to the published list — 0 newly listed and 0 no longer listed
Newly present Chennai institutions in 2023
0No newly listed Chennai institutions in this comparison.
Chennai institutions not present in 2023
0Every Chennai entry in the earlier list remains present.
Chennai NIRF Research rankings 2022
4 Chennai institutions appear in the 2022 published Research list. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is the highest-ranked Chennai entry at national rank 2 with a score of 86.38.
Chennai institutions in NIRF Research 2022
4| 2022 rank | Institution | 2021 rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 2 | 86.38 |
| 21 | Anna University | 32 | 52.85 |
| 36 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 46 | 46.00 |
| 48 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | — | 39.58 |
Major changes from 2021 to 2022
Anna University recorded the largest rise, moving from national rank 32 to 21, an improvement of 11 places. The table shows up to three biggest rises and three biggest falls. Equal movements are ordered by current rank.
Biggest Chennai ranking changes from 2021
2| 2022 rank | Institution | 2021 rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Anna University | 32 | ↑ 11 places |
| 36 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | 46 | ↑ 10 places |
Changes to the published list — 1 newly listed and 0 no longer listed
Newly present Chennai institutions in 2022
1| 2022 rank | Institution | Score | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | 39.58 | Newly present |
Chennai institutions not present in 2022
0Every Chennai entry in the earlier list remains present.
Chennai NIRF Research rankings 2021
3 Chennai institutions appear in the 2021 published Research list. Indian Institute of Technology Madras is the highest-ranked Chennai entry at national rank 2 with a score of 86.01.
Chennai institutions in NIRF Research 2021
3| 2021 rank | Institution | Previous rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Indian Institute of Technology Madras | — | 86.01 |
| 32 | Anna University | — | 47.87 |
| 46 | SRM Institute of Science and Technology | — | 40.16 |
This is the earliest available Research edition; an earlier-year comparison is unavailable.
Chennai Research ranking list
Tamil Nadu#InstituteScore
2 IIT Madras 82.99 0
NIRF Rank Trend (Research)
- 2021: rank 2
- 2022: rank 2
- 2023: rank 2
- 2024: rank 2
- 2025: rank 2
Lower rank is better.
Highlights
Compare with another college
View college profile
Held the #2 position for five consecutive years.
Consistently ranked among India's top research institutions.
13 Saveetha Chennai 60.96 7
NIRF Rank Trend (Research)
- 2021: not ranked
- 2022: rank 48
- 2023: rank 36
- 2024: rank 20
- 2025: rank 13
Lower rank is better.
Highlights
Compare with another college
View college profile
Improved by 35 places from #48 in 2022 to #13 in 2025.
Consistently ranked among India's top research institutions.
25 SRMIST Chennai 55.41 1
NIRF Rank Trend (Research)
- 2021: rank 46
- 2022: rank 36
- 2023: rank 39
- 2024: rank 24
- 2025: rank 25
Lower rank is better.
Highlights
Compare with another college
View college profile
Improved by 21 places from #46 in 2021 to #25 in 2025.
Consistently ranked among India's top research institutions.
26 Anna University 55.09 9
NIRF Rank Trend (Research)
- 2021: rank 32
- 2022: rank 21
- 2023: rank 13
- 2024: rank 17
- 2025: rank 26
Lower rank is better.
Highlights
Compare with another college
View college profile
Improved by 6 places from #32 in 2021 to #26 in 2025.
Consistently ranked among India's top research institutions.
Data source: NIRF, Ministry of Education, Government of India. This page filters the official 2025 ranking by published city and state.
Chennai ranking questions
How many ranked colleges are shown for Chennai?
4 colleges from Chennai appear in the official 2025 list.
Can I compare these colleges?
Yes. Open any expanded row and use the comparison action to review ranks, scores and historical performance.
How is the city filter created?
The page uses the city published for each institution in the selected NIRF ranking edition.