Germany in University Rankings

University rankings can be a useful tool to compare specific aspects of different institutions. While there are several international rankings, such as U-Multirank, the following four are the most influential in terms of public perception:

• Shanghai Ranking (ARWU) – Focuses on research excellence

• Times Higher Education (THE) – Balances teaching, research, and citations

• QS World University Rankings – Includes employer reputation and international outlook

• Webometrics – Measures universities’ online presence and impact

Explore our comparison tables to see which ranking aligns best with what matters most to you.

The German higher education system fares well in international rankings. If you take the Top 200 as the basis, Germany is the 3rd nation (right after the USA and the UK) in the 

• THE ranking, 
• QS ranking 
• Shanghai ranking (to be consistent with THE and QS, only China mainland is considered).
• and Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.

This means that Germany is rated as one of the globally most excellent spots to study.

German universities are amongst the front runners in the Shanghai ranking. 51 German universities made the 2019 ranking, with Heidelberg University, LMU Munich, Technical University of Munich and the University of Bonn making it into the top 100. This is a good turnout for German universities in the Shanghai Ranking, which ranks 1,800 universities from all over the world, but only publishes a list of the best 1,000. A good reason to let this influence your decision is that many employers around the world may respect you have studied at a university that is top-ranked by this widely renowned ranking.

German universities are the closest contenders to the US-American and UK universities in the THE ranking. In the 2020 ranking, Germany has 23 universities placed in the top 200 and the LMU Munich, Technical University of Munich, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University of Berlin, Charité Berlin, University of Freiburg, University of Tübingen and RWTH Aachen made the top-100, as well. The sample for the 2020 ranking consists of almost 1,400 institutions, the lowest group score assigned to universities is ‘1,001+’.

Like the Shanghai-ranking, this list also focuses on research performance but also includes other criteria, such as an institution’s performance in teaching, knowledge transfer, and international outlook. The latter point may be of special interest to international students, as well as the fact that the THE includes results based on student surveys. This information may influence your decision on where to study. However, keep in mind that universities of applied sciences are not included in this list.

In addition to international rankings, Germany has several national rankings that provide valuable insights into university performance. These rankings focus on factors like research funding, teaching quality, and academic reputation within Germany.

The ranking organization behind the Humboldt ranking is the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation which promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany through their prestigious fellowship program (the Humboldt Research Fellowship). Their ranking shows which German universities international fellowship-holders chose for a research stay in Germany. Thus, it lists German institutions only and is an indicator of high international reputation, popularity, and well-established international networks. The latest ranking was published in 2017.

This ranking can be especially interesting for students who plan to pursue an academic career. The Humboldt ranking lists not only university performances, but also which departments international researchers chose. This can help you find out if your university is not just overall strong but also in the specific department you are looking to join. Furthermore, a separate ranking of non-university research institutions can give you insights into the top institutions of the German research landscape.

The CHE ranking is created by the German non-profit organization Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung and published in cooperation with the German newspaper Die Zeit. The intended audience for this ranking are prospective students, the goal is to aid them to decide on where in Germany to study. Therefore, it covers parameters that may be important to prospective students: facts and numbers about student towns, universities, and subjects are compiled in cooperation with the universities. Also, bibliometric analyses are included to include parameters measuring e.g. the research performance, and lastly, student surveys are included to capture students’ perspectives on studying their subject at their university.

After registering for free on the website, you can look for a specific subject and compare all German universities that offer this subject by criteria that you can select as most important for you. This can be a broad array of things, such as how many students use their bikes in that town, the number of seats available in the library, the number of students graduating in time, or the research output. We recommend you have a look at this ranking because it can give you a good idea of what it’s like to be a student of a certain subject in a certain city.