NIRF 2025 Raises Questions: Is Central University of South Bihar Better Than NLSIU in Graduation Outcomes?

What is Graduation Outcome in NIRF 2025?

National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) gives 25% weightage to graduation outcomes in India Rankings 2025, the second-highest after Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR).

While one may be inclined to consider placement percentages and median salaries as key measures of graduation outcomes, the NIRF goes beyond this to incorporate other aspects such as university examinations, students opting for higher education and PhD awards.

NIRF Law rankings 2025: Graduation outcomes

For its criticism, NIRF ignores internships and moot courts, which are essential in shaping the employability of law schools and are as crucial as practical training in an engineering college.

As a result, Symbiosis Law School, Pune and Aligarh Muslim University become the best law institutions in terms of graduation outcomes. Whereas, the top-ranked universities in NIRF Law rankings 2025 — NLSIU, NLU Delhi and GNLU Gandhinagar are 9th, 6th and 10th respectively.

Review of top law schools in graduation outcomes

Ranked 7th overall, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, tops NIRF 2025 in graduation outcomes with a GO score of 96.25. The law school has reported one of the strongest placements among all participating law schools in the NIRF 2025.

In three years, the median salary in the 3-year LLB at SLS Pune has gone up from Rs. 8.2 LPA to Rs. 12 LPA. The 5-year LLB package also jumped from Rs. 9.6 LPA to Rs. 18 LPA.

However, in terms of higher education, SLS Pune is behind many other law schools. It has only 3 students pursuing full-time PhDs, whereas only 56 PhDs (full-time and part-time) were awarded by the law school in the three years.

The Faculty of Law, AMU is the 9th best law school in the NIRF 2025. But it is the second-best in graduation outcomes with a score of 93.26 out of 100.

The median salary of approximately Rs. 12 LPA is close to what tier 2 NLUs have offered in recent years.

However, the university has 118 students pursuing PhDs and 49 students graduating, which substantially improves its graduation outcome score.

NALSAR University secures third rank in both overall and graduation outcomes. The 5-year LLB placements at NALSAR have been consistent between Rs. 16-18 LPA. The university has 50 full-time and 36 part-time students pursuing PhD programmes, whereas 17 students have been awarded PhDs in three years.

Is NLSIU lagging in PhD and higher education?

NLSIU Bangalore, the top-ranked law school in NIRF 2025, slides to 9th place in graduation outcomes. It has a much better placement record than law schools such as AMU, University of Lucknow, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University and Central University of South Bihar. All these law schools have better graduation outcomes than NLSIU in NIRF 2025. This is mainly because these institutions have a higher number of PhDs and students opting for higher education. In contrast, NLSIU places close to 85% of the batch every year, and only a few students opt for higher education.

NLSIU lags in the number of students pursuing or graduating in PhD programmes. The university had 43 students pursuing full-time PhDs and 29 part-time PhDs. In three years, it awarded just 17 PhDs.

Central University of South Bihar surprises

CUSB, which debuted in the NIRF Law rankings for the first time, secured 23rd rank. However, with an impressive score of 84.62, it became the 8th best in terms of graduation outcomes.

Interestingly, the median salary reported by the university remains comparatively lower than several law schools. It reports a median salary ranging from Rs. 6.8 LPA to 7.2 LPA for its 5-year LLB in three years. The median salary at the PG level is also similar to Rs. 6.2 - 7.2 LPA.

The placement percentage is also questionable. The university has nearly 100% placement in three years, but only because most non-placed students were moved to the higher education column. This trend is also noticeable in several other law schools, such as Siksha `O` Anusandhan and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. By moving students to the higher education section, these universities not only improve placement percentage but also gain in graduation outcomes.

CUSB also outperforms several top law schools in putting out PhD numbers. The university has 115 students pursuing full-time PhDs, significantly higher than top law schools. However, it awarded just 31 PhDs in three years, of which 26 were given in 2023-24 only.

Top law schools in Graduation Outcome Score

Law Schools with Lowest Graduation Outcomes

Central University of Punjab has the lowest graduation outcomes due to a lack of placements. The university placed just seven PG students in three years.

Lovely Professional University reports second-lowest graduation outcomes. The university has posted one of the weakest 5-year LLB placement records, placing just 19 students from 225 graduates in three years. In three years, LPU has awarded just six full-time and three part-time PhDs.

Can NIRF Graduation Outcomes Guide Law Aspirants?

If viewed solely from the perspective of jobs and placements after LLB programmes, the graduation outcomes in NIRF do not accurately reflect the reality of law schools and the legal profession.

While placements and median salaries remain central to aspirants, the graduation outcomes fail to capture the key employability factors — internships, moot courts, and debating culture. Instead, it shifts the focus to the numbers submitted by the institutes — numbers of students enrolled in PhD programs and students receiving PhD awards.

As a result, we have lesser-known law schools such as Central University of South Bihar outperforming NLSIU Bangalore and several other Tier 1 law schools.

For law aspirants — if you are choosing a law school, do not blindly trust the NIRF rankings. It is comprehensive for academic researchers, but lacks practical application. A better way of shortlisting would be to look at the college preferences given by students in national and state-level entrance exams, as they provide more realistic trends in law schools. Identify the immediate concerns — location, availability of internships, moot court competitions and placements before deciding on a law school.