Universities List API
Free university directory API with no key: search 9,000+ universities worldwide by country or name, with domains and web pages. Tested curl example.
Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-19
What is the Universities List API?
The Universities List API (Hipolabs) is a free, key-free API listing over 9,000 universities worldwide, searchable by country or name, returning each institution's official domains and web pages.
This API covers more than 9,000 higher education institutions globally with a very simple interface: filter by country, name, or both. The dataset is derived from a community-maintained open list.
The `domains` field is the most practically useful part. Validating that a signup email's domain belongs to a real university is a common requirement for student discounts and academic access, and this API makes that check a single request.
Quick facts
- Base URL
http://universities.hipolabs.com- Authentication
- No key required.
- Rate limit
- No published limit.
- Pricing
- Free open data.
- CORS
- Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
- Official docs
- Read the docs
How to use the Universities List API
Every request below was executed against the live API on 2026-08-19, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.
1. List universities in a country
GET http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan
curl 'http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan'const res = await fetch("http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())[
{
"state-province": "Punjab",
"name": "Information Technology University, Lahore",
"domains": [
"itu.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"https://itu.edu.pk/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa",
"name": "Abasyn University Peshawar",
"domains": [
"abasyn.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"http://www.abasyn.edu.pk/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": null,
"name": "Allama Iqbal Open University",
"domains": [
"aiou.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"http://www.aiou.edu.pk/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": null,
"name": "Azad Jammu and Kashmir University",
"domains": [
"ajku.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"http://www.ajku.edu.pk/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": "Sindh",
"name": "Aga Khan University",
"domains": [
"aku.edu"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"http://www.aku.edu/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": "Sindh",
"name": "Jamia Al Dirasat Ul Islami Karachi",
"domains": [
"aldirasat.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code": "PK",
"web_pages": [
"http://www.aldirasat.edu.pk/"
],
"country": "Pakistan"
},
{
"state-province": null,
"name": "Al-Khair University",
"domains": [
"alkhair.edu.pk"
],
"alpha_two_code":Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
country | string | Optional | Country name, URL-encoded. Pakistan |
name | string | Optional | Partial or full institution name. Punjab |
name_contains | string | Optional | Substring match on the name. tech |
Response fields
namestring- Official institution name.
countrystring- Country name.
alpha_two_codestring- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
domainsarray- Official domain names — useful for validating academic email addresses.
web_pagesarray- Official website URLs.
state-provincestring|null- State or province, frequently null.
What you can build with the Universities List API
- Validate student email addresses against real university domains
- Build a university picker for an education platform
- Populate country-filtered institution dropdowns
- Support academic research on higher education institutions
Common errors and how to fix them
Empty array
No match for the country or name given.
Fix: Country names must be spelled in full and URL-encoded, e.g. `United%20Kingdom`.
Mixed content blocked
The endpoint is served over HTTP.
Fix: Call it from your server rather than an HTTPS front end.
Stale entries
It is a community-maintained list.
Fix: Treat domain matches as a strong hint rather than definitive verification.
Universities List API — frequently asked questions
Is the Universities API free?
Yes, completely free open data with no API key, covering over 9,000 institutions worldwide.
How can I validate a student email address?
Fetch the university by name or country and check whether the email's domain appears in its `domains` array. Treat it as a strong signal rather than proof of enrolment.
Does it support HTTPS?
The primary endpoint is HTTP, which browsers block from HTTPS pages as mixed content. Call it from your backend instead.
How current is the data?
It comes from a community-maintained open list, so it is broadly accurate but can lag on renames, mergers and new institutions. Verify anything critical against the institution directly.
Tools that pair with this API
JSON Formatter
Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.
CSV to JSON Converter
Convert CSV to a JSON array of objects online. Header-row detection, comma/semicolon/tab delimiters and pretty-printed output — 100% in your browser.
Universities List is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-19; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.