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.

No API key requiredCORS enabledFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026

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 19 Aug 2026, 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

curl 'http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan'

JavaScript (fetch)

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);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("http://universities.hipolabs.com/search?country=Pakistan", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)

[
  {
    "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.

Alternatives to Universities List API

If Universities List does not fit, these utility apis cover similar ground. Every one was called before publishing, and each links to its own reference page with a working curl command and the response it returned.

API	What it does	Auth	CORS	Last verified
Agify	Free API that estimates age from a first name using public name data. No key for 100 requests/day. Tested curl example, live response and accuracy caveats.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Genderize	Free API estimating the gender statistically associated with a first name, with a probability score. 100 requests/day, no key. Tested example and caveats.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Nationalize	Free API predicting likely nationality from a first name, returning ranked countries with probabilities. 100 requests/day, no key. Tested curl example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Random User Generator	Free random user generator API with no key: names, addresses, emails, photos and logins in multiple nationalities. Seeded and reproducible. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
UUIDGenerator.net	Free UUID API with no key: request version 1, 3, 4 or 5 identifiers and get them back as a JSON array, in bulk if needed. Tested example included.	No key	Yes	21 Aug 2026
Al Adhan Prayer Times	Free prayer times API with no key: daily Islamic prayer times for any city or coordinates, with multiple calculation methods and Hijri date conversion. Tested.	No key	Yes	20 Aug 2026

All Utility APIs

Universities List is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 19 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.