BRAC University

BRAC University is a private university in Dhaka, founded in 2001 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of the development organisation BRAC. Its main campus is now in Merul Badda, and it serves more than 20,000 students.

Rankings

• Ulkaa Edu Rank 2027: position 9 overall, first among private universities, and 4 in the Dhaka division table. The position reflects Ulkaa's admission competitiveness assessment. Subject tables place BRAC University 8 in business, 9 in computer science and engineering, and 9 in engineering.
• QS World University Rankings 2027: band 1001-1200 (the 2026 edition showed 1201-1400, and 2025 showed 1001-1200).
• QS Asia University Rankings 2026: 260 (253 in the 2025 edition, 281-290 in 2024).
• THE World University Rankings 2027: band 1001-1200. The 2025 and 2026 editions showed the same band, and 2024 showed 801-1000.
• THE Asia University Rankings 2026: band 501-600.
• Webometrics 2024: 1978.

Each ranking uses its own method, so compare figures only within the same table and year.

Among Bangladeshi universities in each table, BRAC University is 4th in QS World 2027, 5th in THE World 2027 and 5th in QS Asia 2026. In subject tables, QS World 2026 placed its economics and econometrics offering in the 551-700 band. Ulkaa's own table compares universities using published admission and research data, and its full method is on Ulkaa as methodology 2027.1.

BRAC University was established in 2001 under the Private University Act. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, who founded BRAC, set it up with three departments and about 80 students at a temporary campus in Mohakhali, Dhaka.

The university held its first convocation in January 2006. By 2025 the student body had grown from about 80 to more than 20,000.

In November 2023 it moved into a new permanent campus in Merul Badda. The building has 14 floors, was designed by the Singapore-based firm WOHA, and has a floor area of 157,935 square metres. It includes a 700-seat auditorium, laboratories, libraries and recreation spaces.

Admission is through the university's own admission process for each semester. Read the official BRAC University circular for the application dates, eligibility, test format and the programme list open to new students, because requirements can differ by programme.

UGC data show how many students enter each year: 4,716 new students in 2021, 7,214 in 2022 and 5,438 in 2023.

Tuition and fee amounts are not listed on this page. Confirm them against the current official notice.

The university works through schools, institutes and departments. Wikipedia lists the schools of business, engineering, public health, architecture, law and pharmacy among them, along with institutes for educational development, governance and development, and languages. Departments include computer science, economics and biotechnology.

The Ulkaa catalogue lists five programmes for the 2027 edition, each carrying accreditation in 2026:

• BSc in Computer Science and Engineering (BAETE)
• BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (BAETE)
• BSc in Electrical and Communication Engineering (BAETE)
• LLB (Honours), recognised by the Bar Council
• Bachelor of Pharmacy, accredited by the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh

Students on bachelor's programmes also complete a residential semester at the Savar campus, where they study Bengali, Bangladesh history, English and ethics and take part in community service.

OpenAlex data record 5,930 works for the five years to 2025, with 46,042 citations, or about 7.8 per work. The OpenAlex h-index was 146 in 2026, and about 43 percent of the 2025 works had an international co-author.

By subject in the 2025 data, 791 works are in computer science, 769 in medicine, 480 in business and 412 in engineering. The mean citedness over two years was 3.79 in 2026.

The five-year publication count rose each year, from 2,699 in the period to 2021, through 3,527, 4,254 and 5,211, to the 2025 figure.

The Merul Badda campus brings classrooms, laboratories, libraries and recreation spaces into one building, with a 700-seat auditorium for large events. Before November 2023 the university used its temporary campus in Mohakhali.

The mandatory residential semester at Savar is a distinctive feature of student life. It gives every bachelor's student a stretch of shared campus living and service work early in the degree.

UGC data record 17,325 students and 1,119 teachers in 2023, of whom 264 held a PhD. In 2025 the university reported about 20,000 students, which Wikipedia splits into roughly 17,000 undergraduates and 3,000 postgraduates.

Enrolment has grown steadily: 13,544 students in 2021, 16,375 in 2022 and 17,325 in 2023. Teacher numbers rose from 925 to 1,084 and then 1,119 over the same years, which gives about 15 or 16 students for each teacher in 2023. Teachers with a PhD went from 209 in 2021 to 264 in 2023.