Top Engineering Colleges in Kerala 2026

Kerala has 52 colleges that offer best engineering programmes at different levels of education. Of these, 31 colleges are private and the rest 21 are government colleges. Overall, there are 416 engineering colleges in Kerala.

Most of the colleges accept KEAM, JEE Main scores for BTech admission. Other major exams are CUSAT CAT, GATE and JEE Advanced.
The fee structure of top Kerala Engineering colleges ranges between ₹45 K to ₹6.60 Lakhs.

Top Engineering Colleges in Kerala - Highlights

Total number of Engineering colleges in Kerala	Total: 416 Private: 256 Government: 160
Range of tuition fees	Rs 13 K to Rs 8 Lakhs
Top engineering colleges in Kerala	NIT Calicut, IIST Thiruvananthapuram, IIT Palakkad etc
Top specializations	Computer Science, Electronics and Communication, Biomedical, Information Technology, Electrical, Chemical, Civil, Mechanical etc.
Major entrance exams	JEE Main, JEE Advanced, KEAM, CUSAT etc.

Engineering Colleges in India

Top Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu	Top Engineering Colleges in Karnataka
Top Engineering Colleges in Andhra Pradesh	Top Engineering Colleges in Delhi

Top 5 Engineering Colleges in Kerala With NIRF Ranking 2025

NIT Calicut (NIRF rank 21), IIST Thiruvananthapuram (NIRF Rank 61) and IIT Palakkad (NIRF Rank 64) are the best colleges in Kerala for engineering. Check the table below for the names of top engineering colleges in Kerala based on their ranks in 2025, 2024 and 2023.

Top Engineering Colleges in Kerala Rank Wise

Name of the Institute	NIRF Ranking 2025	NIRF Ranking 2024	NIRF Ranking 2023
NIT Calicut	21	25	23
IIST Thiruvananthapuram	61	51	48
IIT Palakkad	64	64	69
College of Engineering, Trivandrum	101-150	101-150	151-200
GEC Thrissur	_	201-300	_

Top 10 Engineering Colleges in Kerala With Careers360 Ranking 2025

Institute Name	Careers360 Ranking
NIT Calicut	AAAAA
IIST Thiruvananthapuram	AAAAA
IIT Palakkad	AAAA+
College of Engineering, Trivandrum	AAAA+
RIT Kottayam	AAAA
GEC Idukki	AAAA
GCE Kannur	AAAA
GEC Palakkad	AAAA
CUSAT Kochi	AAAA
MEC Thrikkakara	AAAA

Top 5 Private Engineering Colleges in Kerala With Fees 2025

The table below mentions the list of top engineering colleges in Kerala under private ownership along with the fee structure and required exams.

Best Private Engineering Colleges in Kerala 2025

College Name	Tentative Fees	Entrance Exams
NSS College of Engineering	₹74,280	KEAM
MACE Kothamangalam	_	KEAM
IIIT Kottayam	₹10.70 Lakhs	JEE Main
MITS Ernakulam	_	KEAM
SCMS School of Engineering and Technology	_	KEAM

Top 5 Government Engineering Colleges in Kerala 2025

The details of the top government engineering colleges in Kerala with fees and required entrance exams are mentioned below.

Best Government Engineering Colleges in Kerala 2025

College Name	Tentative Fees	Entrance Exams
NIT Calicut	₹5,62,000	JEE Main
IIT Palakkad	₹8,91,000	KEAM
College of Engineering, Trivandrum	_	KEAM
CUSAT Kochi	₹7,53,000	CUSAT CAT. GATE
RIT Kottayam	₹62,560	KEAM

Top 5 Engineering Colleges in Kerala With Salary 2025

Listed below are the best colleges in Kerala along with the median salary package. Also included in the list are the names of top government engineering colleges in Kerala based on placement.

Best Colleges in Kerala for Engineering 2025

College Name	Median Salary	Top Recruiter
IIT Palakkad	₹9,50,000	Maruti Suzuki, Accenture, Target, Mercedes, Paytm
NIT Calicut	₹9,01,000	CITI BANK, DELL, Deloitte, BIG BASKET, Bajaj Auto
GEC Thrissur	₹6,50,00	Yahoo, Federal Bank , Amazon, Oracle, IDEA
College of Engineering, Trivandrum	₹6,00,000	Cognizant, Motorola, TCS, HP, Infosys
RIT Kottayam	₹4,50,000	MRF, Oracle, Zoho, UST Global

Top 5 Engineering Colleges in Kerala With Cut Off

The table below shows the topmost Engineering Colleges in Kerala based on the KEAM cutoff for BE/BTech Computer Science Engineering

Best Engineering Colleges in Kerala

College Name	KEAM BTech CSE Cutoff Ranks
College of Engineering, Trivandrum	443
GEC Thrissur	831
TKMCE	1523
RIT Kottayam	2641
SCTCE	3821

Engineering College Predictors

KEAM College Predictor	JEE Main College Predictor
CUSAT CAT College Predictor	JEE Main & Advanced College Predictor
BITSAT College Predictor	JEE Advanced College Predictor
MET College Predictor	CSAB Counselling College Predictor

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Which college is the best in Kerala to pursue Civil Engineering?

Ans. Colleges that are best to pursue Civil Engineering in Kerala are:

NIT Calicut
IIT Palakkad
COE Trivandrum

Q. Is JEE exam eligible to get admission in engineering colleges of Kerala?

Ans. Most of the colleges in Kerala prefer JEE marks to go on with their admission process. You can apply with your JEE mark sheet in Kerala.

Q. What are the facilities provided at NIT, Calicut?

Ans. There are several facilities provided by NIT at Calicut such as the hostel facility for both boys and girls, a central library, undergraduate laboratories, postgraduate laboratories, health facilities, and so on.

Q. Which are the most sought-after specializations for engineering colleges in Kerala?

Ans. Some of the most popular specializations for engineering colleges in Kerala are Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Software Engineering.

Q. Which is the best engineering college in Kerala based on the placement facilities?

Ans. NIT Calicut and IIST are the best engineering colleges in Kerala when it comes to the placement facilities offered to the students. National, as well as International recruiters, offer jobs to the students here.

Q. What are the various career pathways available after completing an engineering course from Kerala?

Ans. Some of the most popular career pathways available to engineering students from Kerala are Industrial Engineer, Automobile Engineer, Software Engineer, Marine Engineer, Aerospace Engineer.

Q. Are there any engineering colleges in Kerala that have an affordable fee?

Ans. Pursuing engineering in Kerala is an economical option as almost two-thirds of the best engineering colleges in Kerala have a total course fee between Rs. 1 lakhs to Rs. 5 Lakhs.

Q. Which are the most popular engineering entrance exams in Kerala?

Ans. JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, and KEAM are the most popular entrance exams for the best engineering colleges in Kerala.

Q, What are the options after completing my BTech from Kerala?

Ans. If you are not interested in pursuing a career right after your BTech, then you can go for an MBA, MTech, ME or other higher education courses to enhance your skills and improve your employability.

Q. Can I get lateral entry at NIT Calicut?

Ans. No, you must appear for the IIT Mains and IIT Advanced entrance exams to secure admission at NIT Calicut.