University of Delhi vs University of Dhaka
Side-by-side comparison across 6 dimensions for international students.
University of Delhi sits 1 tier above University of Dhaka on institutional health, with the remaining dimensions tied — a narrow but pointed advantage in the dimensions BrightKey weighs. University of Delhi sits in New Delhi, India while University of Dhaka is in Dhaka, Bangladesh — alongside the academic ratings, international applicants should weigh post-study visa options, cost of living, and cultural fit between the two locations.
Where They Differ
Dimension Ratings
| Dimension | University of Delhi | University of Dhaka |
|---|---|---|
| Network Strength | A | A |
| Curriculum Relevance | B | B |
| Employability | B | B |
| Teaching Quality | B | B |
| Institutional Health | B | C |
| Student Experience | B | B |
Key Facts
| University of Delhi | University of Dhaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | 🇮🇳 New Delhi, India | 🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Founded | 1922 | 1921 |
| Students | 132,000 | 44,895 |
| International % | 1% | 1% |
| Accepts IB | ✓ | ✓ |
| Accepts A-Levels | ✓ | ✓ |
| Post-Study Visa | Student visa for inbound study; most top institutes are domestic-exam-gated (JEE/CAT/CUET). For Indians studying abroad, India is the world's largest or second-largest source of international students | Student visa sponsored by the institution; no automatic post-study work visa — very heavy graduate emigration ('brain drain') to the West and the Gulf |
Cost Comparison
- Tuition:
- ₹10,000–₹40,000/year for most colleges (~US$120–500); a handful of self-financed/elite-college courses higher
- Living:
- ₹150,000–₹350,000/year (~US$1,800–4,200) for Delhi accommodation, food, and transport
- Total Annual:
- Roughly ₹160,000–₹400,000/year (~US$1,900–4,800) all-in for most students
- Tuition:
- Very low as a public university: domestic tuition and fees are heavily subsidised, commonly only a few thousand to low tens of thousands of BDT per year (roughly USD 50-400/year); international/self-funded and professional programmes (e.g. IBA, evening MBA) are higher
- Living:
- Dhaka living costs are low by global standards: roughly BDT 120,000-300,000/year (~USD 1,000-2,500/year) covering accommodation, food and transport, with subsidised residential-hall places far cheaper
- Total Annual:
- Approximately USD 1,200-3,000/year all-in for most students — among the most affordable options for a nationally prestigious university, varying by programme and whether hall accommodation is secured
Structural Strengths
- ✓Unmatched national brand and alumni density across Indian politics, business, economics, media, and the arts
- ✓A cluster of genuinely elite colleges (St. Stephen's, SRCC, LSR, Hindu, Miranda House) offering top-tier teaching and peer cohorts
- ✓Extremely low public-university fees — world-class value for money at the strong colleges
- ✓Strong humanities, commerce, and economics depth, anchored by the Delhi School of Economics and SRCC
- ✓Central New Delhi location with rich campus, cultural, and civil-service/policy networking opportunities
- ✓Bangladesh's oldest (1921), largest and most prestigious university and its undisputed national flagship — historically the 'Oxford of the East'
- ✓Unmatched national heritage: the cradle of the 1952 Bengali Language Movement (commemorated via UNESCO's International Mother Language Day) and a central site of the 1971 Liberation War
- ✓Dominant elite alumni network spanning Bangladesh's political, civil-service, legal, academic and business leadership — including Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus and physicist Satyendra Nath Bose
- ✓The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) is an elite, highly competitive professional school with strong domestic and multinational recruiter recognition
- ✓Comprehensive breadth across arts, social sciences, law, business, sciences and pharmacy, with very low public tuition and strong domestic brand prestige
Honest Weaknesses
- !Quality is highly college-dependent — the gap between the top colleges and the long tail of 90+ is enormous
- !Modest global research standing (QS ~328) and limited international recognition outside India
- !Large class sizes, heavy reliance on ad-hoc/contract faculty, and stretched infrastructure at many colleges
- !Ongoing disruption from the CUET admission switch (2022) and the four-year UGCF rollout still stabilising
- !Scarce hostel/accommodation and long city commutes; thin career-services support outside the elite colleges
- !Chronic developing-economy underfunding, overcrowding and stretched infrastructure typical of a flagship public university in a low/middle-income country
- !Intense and periodically violent campus politics tied to national-party student wings, with unrest (e.g. the deadly July 2024 quota protests) forcing closures
- !'Session jams' — administrative and political delays that routinely stretch degrees well beyond their nominal length
- !Modest global ranking (QS World ~#584, QS Asia ~#132, 2026) well outside the global top tier despite immense national prestige
- !Significant brain drain: many of the strongest graduates and academics emigrate for better-resourced opportunities abroad
Best Fit For
- • Indian students targeting elite colleges (St. Stephen's, SRCC, LSR, Hindu) for economics, commerce, or humanities
- • Future civil servants, lawyers, journalists, and policy professionals building a Delhi-centred network
- • High-CUET-scorers seeking a prestigious degree at very low cost
- • Students wanting a vibrant, society-driven Indian campus culture in the capital
- • Bangladeshi and Bengali-heritage students seeking the nation's most prestigious degree and its dominant professional, political and intellectual network
- • Applicants targeting the elite Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and its strong domestic and multinational career pipelines
- • Students of economics, law, the social sciences, Bengali language and literature, and the humanities drawn to deep national heritage and tradition
- • Aspiring civil servants, policymakers, academics and public figures who will build careers within Bangladesh
Notable Programs
- Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) — B.Com (Hons) & Economics (Hons) — India's most sought-after commerce and economics undergraduate destination; among the highest CUET cutoffs and best recruiters into finance and consulting.
- St. Stephen's College — DU's most prestigious liberal-arts college (founded 1881); alumni include World Bank President Ajay Banga and EAM S. Jaishankar. Runs its own interview-based selection alongside CUET.
- Economics (Hons) — Delhi School of Economics — One of South Asia's premier economics centres; the postgraduate/research pipeline behind alumni like Gita Gopinath and economist Kaushik Basu.
- Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) — Elite women's college on South Campus, top-ranked for humanities, economics, and social sciences; a leading feeder into media, law, and policy.
- Economics — One of DU's most storied departments and the academic home of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus (BA and MA here); a leading source of Bangladesh's economists and policymakers.
- Institute of Business Administration (IBA) — DU's elite, highly selective business school (BBA/MBA), with admission among the most competitive in the country and strong domestic and multinational recruiter recognition.
- Law — A historic faculty that has trained a large share of Bangladesh's judges, advocates and public-sector legal leadership.
- Social Sciences (Political Science, International Relations, Sociology) — Deep, nationally influential faculties that have produced much of the country's political, diplomatic and intellectual leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose University of Delhi or University of Dhaka?
University of Delhi is best for: Indian students targeting elite colleges (St. Stephen's, SRCC, LSR, Hindu) for economics, commerce, or humanities. University of Dhaka is best for: Bangladeshi and Bengali-heritage students seeking the nation's most prestigious degree and its dominant professional, political and intellectual network. The two are not linearly comparable — the right choice depends on intended major, target career market, and family priorities. University of Delhi leads on 1 of 6 BrightKey dimensions; University of Dhaka leads on 0.
How does tuition compare between University of Delhi and University of Dhaka?
University of Delhi tuition: ₹10,000–₹40,000/year for most colleges (~US$120–500); a handful of self-financed/elite-college courses higher (living: ₹150,000–₹350,000/year (~US$1,800–4,200) for Delhi accommodation, food, and transport). University of Dhaka tuition: Very low as a public university: domestic tuition and fees are heavily subsidised, commonly only a few thousand to low tens of thousands of BDT per year (roughly USD 50-400/year); international/self-funded and professional programmes (e.g. IBA, evening MBA) are higher (living: Dhaka living costs are low by global standards: roughly BDT 120,000-300,000/year (~USD 1,000-2,500/year) covering accommodation, food and transport, with subsidised residential-hall places far cheaper). Total annual cost: University of Delhi Roughly ₹160,000–₹400,000/year (~US$1,900–4,800) all-in for most students; University of Dhaka Approximately USD 1,200-3,000/year all-in for most students — among the most affordable options for a nationally prestigious university, varying by programme and whether hall accommodation is secured.
Where do graduates of University of Delhi and University of Dhaka typically end up?
University of Delhi: B — graduates from the top colleges (SRCC, St. Stephen's, LSR, Hindu) recruit extremely well into Indian finance, consulting, civil service, and media, and the DU name carries weight nationally.. University of Dhaka: B — a DU degree carries strong recognition and graduate outcomes within Bangladesh, where alumni dominate the civil service, professions, academia, media and corporate leadership, and elite units such as the IBA feed top domestic employers and multinationals. Held at B because outcomes are concentrated in a developing domestic labour market with limited formal global employer signalling, and persistent brain drain sees many of the strongest graduates emigrate.. The two universities rate B and B respectively on BrightKey's employability dimension.
What are University of Delhi and University of Dhaka most known for?
University of Delhi's flagship program: Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) — B.Com (Hons) & Economics (Hons). University of Dhaka's flagship program: Economics. See the full Notable Programs section above for the side-by-side breakdown.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is based on BrightKey's independent assessment using publicly available data. Tier ratings reflect our methodology — not an absolute measure of quality. Read our methodology →