ISLAMABAD: Quaid-i-Azam University beat out higher educational institutes across Pakistan to secure the leading spot in the Higher Education Commission (HEC) ranking of top Pakistani universities in 2015.

It is followed by the University of Punjab and the National University of Science and Technology at second and third place respectively.

In addition to a list of top 10 universities overall, the best educational institutes in various disciplines have also been ranked.

Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmad announced the rankings during a press conference held at the Commission Secretariat in Islamabad on Tuesday. Rankings are based on data collected during the previous year, he said, adding that HEC verifies and checks data from all universities before compiling the final list.

Universities are evaluated on the basis of quality assurance, quality of teaching, research, finance and facilities and social integration and community development.

Top 10 universities overall in Pakistan

1. Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
2. University of the Punjab, Lahore
3. National University of Sciences and Technology
4. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
5. Aga Khan University
6. Comsats Institute of Information Technology
7. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad
8. University of Karachi
9. University of Health Sciences, Lahore
10. University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.

Top 10 universities for business

1. Iqra University, Karachi
2. Lahore School of Economics, Lahore
3. Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
4. Institute of Management Science, Peshawar
5. Sukkur Institute of Business Administration, Sukkur
6. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
7. The Superior College, Lahore
8. Institute of Business Management, Karachi
9. University of Central Punjab, Lahore
10. Greenwich University, Karachi

Top 10 universities for engineering

1. National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
2. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Islamabad
3. Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi
4. Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad
5. University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
6. Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro
7. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar
8. Air University, Islamabad
9. University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila
10. National Textile University, Faisalabad

Top 10 universities for medicine

1. Aga Khan University
2. University of Health Sciences, Lahore
3. Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi
4. Khyber Medical University, Peshawar
5. Isra University, Hyderabad
6. King Edward Medical University, Lahoe
7. Ziauddin Medical University
8. Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro
9. Gandhara University, Peshawar
10. Baqai Medical University

Top universities for art

1. National College of Arts, Lahore
2. Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi

Top universities for agriculture

1. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
2. University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
3. University of Agriculture, Peshawar
4. Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam
5. Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences

Related: QAU tops HEC university rankings for 2014

The first HEC rankings were announced in 2006. After a pause of about six years, the second rankings were announced in 2012, followed by the third and fourth in 2013 and 2014 respectively.