Best Colleges in Kerala: Fees, Admission 2026, Courses, Placements

As per NIRF ranking 2025, under "colleges" category, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences is the top ranked college in Kerala. Below mentioned are the other top colleges with their NIRF rankings -

Top Colleges in Kerala	NIRF 2025
Rajagiri College of Social Sciences is the top ranked college in KeralaCollege of Social Sciences Ranking	12
University College, Thiruvananthapuram Ranking	23
Sacred Heart College Ranking	44
St. Thomas College, Thrissur Ranking	53
Govt. College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram Ranking	54
Govt.5 Berchmans College (Autonomous), Changanacherry, Kerala Ranking	56

NOTE: The above NIRF rankings have been taken from NIRF official site and may vary.

Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (RCSS) has a dedicated placement cell to manage the placements of various courses. As of now,   the course-wise placement rate for MBA has not been released by the college. As per the college's NIRF Report 2024, 277 students from PG (2-year) courses were placed in 2023. The placement rate for various PG (2-year) courses (including MBA) was 77% in 2023. It was 70% in 2022.

To get admission to Kerala colleges, candidates must meet the certain eligibility criteria -

• Candidates must complete their Class 12 with 45% aggregate marks
• They must clear an entrance exam like
• Medical: NEET-UG, NEET-PG
• Management: CAT, XAT, MAT, etc.
• Science: JAM, NET, etc.
• Arts & Commerce: Merit lists or university entrance tests.

Source: official site and may vary.

The Rajagiri College of Social Sciences the highest package details have not been released. Once out, it will be mentioned here. Meanwhile, take a look at the table below depicting the placement rate for the RCSS placements 2024:

Admission criteria to National Institute of Technology Calicut is primarily entrance based and is different for all UG and PG programmes. To get into UG programmes, the eligibility criteria is the minimum aggregate in Class 12 or equivalent, along with entrance exams. However, the eligibility criteria to get into PG programmes is graduation in any discipline (this may vary from course to course), along with entrance exams.

The seats availability for offered courses at Sacred Heart College - SHC goes up to 778.

No, you can not join this college directly.Filling out the application via the Vimala College admissions portal is required for all categories.The official college website lists the particular eligibility requirements for each of the many undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate programs that the college offers.Attend the University of Calicut's entrance examination, provide your class 12 report card and any additional paperwork that is needed.If you are selected for counseling, please show up on the designated date and time.Seat allocation is determined by entrance exam scores, 12th percentile, seat availability, and reservations.

For PG courses, give the appropriate postgraduate entrance test (CUCET for MA students, CAT/MAT for MBA students).Bring all original documentation to the counseling process, along with your qualifying exam results.Entry is determined by merit, taking into account a candidate's academic history, qualifying exam results, etc.

Private colleges in Kerala have modern infrastructure and higer tuition fees as compared to government colleges. Below mentioned are some of the top private colleges -

Private Colleges	Tuition Fee
Rajagiri College of Social Sciences	INR 2,190 - INR 1 lakh
Sacred Heart College	INR 13,460 - INR 2.88 lakh
St Teresa's College	INR 24,000 - INR 19 lakh
Vimala College	INR 3,780 - INR 1.01 lakh
Farook College	INR 3,150 - INR 77,000

Source: Official site and may vary.

BMS, Accounting, IT and Software are some of the top streams offered by Kerala colleges. Below mentioned are the top streams with courses offered and no. of colleges -

Top Streams	Top Courses Offered	Top Colleges
Business and Management	BBA, MBA, etc.	690
Accounting and Commerce	BCom, MCom, etc.	680+
Medicine	BPharma, MD, DPharma, MBBS, etc.	260+
Law	LLM, LLB, BCom, LLB, BA LLB, etc.	50+

Source: Official site and may vary.

University College, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram has been rated 4.3 on Infrastructure parameter. University College, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram has also been rated 4.8 for Campuslife.

There are about 2,200+ colleges in Kerala. Kerala has all private, government, and semi government colleges. Top colleges are Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, NIT Calicut, University College, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Sacred Heart College, etc.

Kerala colleges offer diverse specialisations like BMS, Accounting and Commerce, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, IT and Software, etc.

 

St Teresa's College has been rated 4.38 for Faculty as per the Shiksha verified reviews by students. This represents that Institute has decent, qualified and experienced faculty members.

Below mentioned are the top private Engineering colleges in Kerala with tuition fees -

Private Colleges	Total Tuition Fee
Amrita School of Engineering Admission	INR 12 lakh- INR 24 lakh
FISAT Engineering College Admission	INR 2 lakh
RSET Admission	INR 3 lakh
Saintgits College of Engineering Admission	INR 4 lakh
FISAT Admission	INR 2 lakh
Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology Admission	INR 3 lakh

Disclaimer: This info. is taken from the official website and may vary.

Business and Management studies is the top stream offered by top Kerala college. MBA and BBA are the top streams offered by these colleges. Below mentioned are the top colleges with tuition fees -

Top BMS Colleges in Kerala	Tuition Fee
IIM Kozhikode Admission	INR 7.6lakh – INR 28 lakh
NIT Calicut Admission	INR 3 lakh
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi Admission	INR 67,040 – INR 88,110
MGU Kerala Admission	INR 37,880
Rajagiri Business School Admission	INR 50,000 – INR 7.5 lakh

Source: Official site and may vary.

The fees range for courses offerred by the St. Berchmans College is around INR 7897 - INR 141723.

Mar Ivanios College (Thiruvananthapuram) has been rated 4.17 for Faculty as per the Shiksha verified reviews by students. This represents that Institute has decent, qualified and experienced faculty members.

The Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad is a good choice among Engineering institutes with verified Shiksha Review praising it for its:

• Placements: 70-80% of students received placements with average packages of INR 15 LPA - INR 17 LPA (Jatoth Akhil - B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering - Batch of 2027).
• Infrastructure: Each Branch of BTech have their own building and labs while classrooms are equipped with digital screens & projectors (Anonymous - B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering - Batch of 2028).
• Faculty: Students are taught a comprehensive foundation of the technologies from the fundamentals, further frequent assessments are held at the institute (Anonymous - 
  B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering - Batch of 2027).

The fees structure for programs offerred by the St. Joseph's College, Kozhikode is INR 3780 - INR 102000.

The Institute takes pride in offering its students a median placement salary of INR 1.60 LPA, that underscores its dedication to preparing graduates for prosperous careers by providing them with a noteworthy and competitive compensation package.

Every year in May or June, Vimala College issues application forms for undergraduate courses, including BA, BSc, and BCom programs.Following the release of the results of the Class 12 board test, the application procedure starts.The college website, publications, and notice board all solicit applications.
For UG programs, the application deadline often falls during the third week of June.Applications for PG courses, such as MSc, MA, and MCom programs, are made available between May and June.Prior to the administration of entrance tests such as CAT, MAT, CUCET, and so on, applications are accepted.July is the deadline for PG applications.Applications for MPhil and PhD programs are accepted starting in June and run all year long.

As a result, applicants should frequently visit the college's official website for the latest updates.

Farook College has been rated 4.43 for Faculty as per the Shiksha verified reviews by students. This represents that Institute has decent, qualified and experienced faculty members.

Students can expect to pay around INR 3780 - INR 168000 for the programs offered by the St. Joseph's College, Irinjalakkuda.

C.M.S College offers various courses like Ph.D, M.Sc, M.A, M.Com, B.A, B.Com, B.Sc, BCA in Science, Humanities & Social Sciences, Accounting & Commerce, IT & Software stream. C.M.S College has specializations such as Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Zoology, Botany, English, Biotechnology, Food & Nutrition.

Median salary of M.A. course is INR 180,000 as per the reports/data available.