Quick Verdict
By faculty headcount, IIT Bombay has more faculty members (759) than IIT Roorkee (585) (Wikipedia). On national rankings, IIT Bombay also leads: 3rd versus IIT Roorkee's 5th on the India Today Engineering list (PW), and 3rd versus 6th (Engineering) / 7th (Overall) on NIRF (KollegeApply). IIT Roorkee's case rests on institutional heritage and specific program strengths in civil engineering, chemical engineering, and architecture.
Snapshot
| Feature | IIT Bombay | IIT Roorkee |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty count | 759 (Wikipedia) | 585 (Wikipedia) |
| Student count | 12,976 (Wikipedia) | 9,735 (Wikipedia) |
| Annual budget | ₹896 crore / ~US$94 million (Wikipedia) | ₹818.60 crore / ~US$86 million (Wikipedia) |
| Institution founded / became an IIT | 1958 (Wikipedia) | Founded 1847 (as Thomason College of Civil Engineering); became IIT Roorkee in 2001/2002 (Wikipedia; InsightfulBlog) |
| India Today Engineering Rank | 3rd of 35 (PW) | 5th of 35 (PW) |
| Courses tracked (Shiksha) | 147 (Shiksha) | 195 (Shiksha) |
Bombay here refers to IIT Bombay, located in Mumbai; Roorkee refers to IIT Roorkee, located in the town of Roorkee, Uttarakhand. Both are part of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a network of public engineering and technology institutions overseen by India's Ministry of Education.
Detailed Analysis
On raw faculty and student numbers, IIT Bombay is the larger of the two: 759 faculty members and 12,976 students, against IIT Roorkee's 585 faculty and 9,735 students, backed by a slightly bigger annual budget of ₹896 crore versus IIT Roorkee's ₹818.60 crore (Wikipedia). System-wide, sourced material notes that the faculty-to-student ratio across all IITs is meant to sit between 1:6 and 1:8, with the IIT Council's Standing Committee prescribing a lower limit of 1:9 applied department-wise (Wikipedia). Worth flagging: that policy ratio doesn't line up neatly with the raw headcounts above — dividing each institute's student count by its faculty count implies a much wider ratio than 1:6-1:8 for both institutes. We're presenting both sourced figures as-is rather than resolving the discrepancy ourselves, since the sourced material doesn't explain it (the 1:6-1:8 figure may apply to a specific admission or department-level calculation rather than total headcount).
On heritage, there's a genuine nuance in how "oldest" gets used. One source describes IIT Roorkee, "founded in 1847 as the Thomason College of Civil Engineering," as "the oldest," while IIT Bombay, established in 1958, is "the second oldest IIT in India" (InsightfulBlog). But separate sourced material on the IIT system states that the first Indian Institute of Technology was founded in 1950 and inaugurated in 1951 at Kharagpur, and that Roorkee was only converted into an IIT in 2001 (Wikipedia). In other words: IIT Roorkee is the oldest *institution* by founding date (1847), but it wasn't designated an IIT until 2001 — decades after Kharagpur (1951) and after Bombay (1958) — so "oldest IIT" depends on whether you're counting from the institution's founding or its IIT conversion date. Both framings are legitimate; they're just answering slightly different questions.
On academic character, sourced comparisons describe IIT Bombay as known for "strong industry connections and research collaborations," while IIT Roorkee "boasts a unique blend of traditional and modern academic programs" (InsightfulBlog). More specifically, IIT Bombay is described as "particularly renowned for its programs in computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering," while IIT Roorkee "has a strong reputation for its civil engineering, chemical engineering, and architecture programs" (InsightfulBlog). Both institutes offer undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs across engineering, sciences, humanities, and management (InsightfulBlog), and research is described as "an integral part of the academic ecosystem" at both, though the source doesn't quantify that claim with output figures (InsightfulBlog).
On course breadth, Shiksha tracks 147 courses for IIT Bombay against 195 for IIT Roorkee (Shiksha) — meaning IIT Roorkee, on this specific count, actually lists more distinct courses, likely reflecting its broader spread across engineering, architecture, and applied-science disciplines built up over its longer institutional history. On overall national standing, though, IIT Bombay leads: 3rd versus 5th on the India Today Engineering ranking of 35 institutes (PW), and 3rd versus 6th (Engineering) / 7th (Overall) on the NIRF-based figures (KollegeApply).
Verdict
Winner: IIT Bombay, on the basis of a larger faculty and student base, a bigger budget, and a consistent ranking edge across two different ranking systems (India Today: 3rd vs. 5th; NIRF: 3rd vs. 6th/7th). Runner-up: IIT Roorkee, which counters with a longer institutional heritage (1847 founding), a broader tracked course catalogue (195 vs. 147 on Shiksha), and specific, well-regarded strength in civil engineering, chemical engineering, and architecture. If your academic interest lies specifically in one of those three fields, or if institutional heritage and program variety matter more to you than the topline ranking gap, IIT Roorkee is a legitimately strong — arguably better-fit — choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which IIT has more faculty members?
IIT Bombay, with 759, versus IIT Roorkee's 585 (Wikipedia).
Q: Which IIT is actually older?
It depends on what you're counting. IIT Roorkee's roots go back to 1847 as the Thomason College of Civil Engineering, making it the oldest institution, but it wasn't converted into an IIT until 2001. IIT Kharagpur was the first to be designated an IIT (1951), and IIT Bombay followed in 1958 (Wikipedia; InsightfulBlog).
Q: What is each institute particularly known for academically?
IIT Bombay for computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering; IIT Roorkee for civil engineering, chemical engineering, and architecture (InsightfulBlog).
Q: Which institute tracks more courses on Shiksha?
IIT Roorkee, with 195 courses listed, versus IIT Bombay's 147 (Shiksha).
Q: What is the official faculty-to-student ratio policy for IITs?
Sourced material states the ratio across IITs is meant to fall between 1:6 and 1:8, with a department-wise lower limit of 1:9 set by the IIT Council's Standing Committee (Wikipedia) — though this doesn't cleanly match the raw faculty/student headcounts for either institute in the sourced data, and we haven't attempted to reconcile the discrepancy ourselves.
Q: Which institute ranks higher nationally for engineering?
IIT Bombay — 3rd of 35 on the India Today Engineering ranking versus IIT Roorkee's 5th, and 3rd versus 6th on NIRF's Engineering list (PW; KollegeApply).
Q: Do both institutes offer PhD programs?
Yes — sourced material states both institutes offer undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs across engineering, sciences, humanities, and management (InsightfulBlog).
Q: Which institute has a bigger annual budget?
IIT Bombay, at ₹896 crore, versus IIT Roorkee's ₹818.60 crore (Wikipedia).
Related
For the complete picture beyond Faculty and Academics — placements, academics, campus life, and more — see the full IIT Bombay vs IIT Roorkee comparison.