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Rankings: The 61 best universities in Germany for 2021/2022

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Rankings: The 61 best universities in Germany for 2021/2022

Germany enjoys a remarkable reputation for its higher education sector: There are more than 400 universities, and many of them score high in international rankings, among the top universities in the world. The two hot spots of academic excellence are Munich (with Ludwig Maximilians University, LMU, and the Technical University of Munich, TUM) and Berlin (with the HU, the FU and the TU). But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, and there are many more world-class institutions in other corners of the country.

Top ranked universities in Germany

University QS Ranking 2020 THE Ranking 2020 ARWU Ranking 2019
Technical University of Munich (TUM) 55 43 57
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich 63 32 52
Heidelberg University 66 44 47
Humboldt University Berlin 120 74 –
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) 124 175 201
Freie Universität Berlin 130 117 –
RWTH Aachen University 138 99 201
Technische Universität Berlin 147 149 301
University of Freiburg 169 86 101
University of Tübingen 169 91 151
Technische Universität Dresden 179 157 201
University of Göttingen 197 125 101
Universität Hamburg 227 149 201
University of Bonn 243 105 70
TU Darmstadt 260 251 501
University of Stuttgart 279 251 301
Goethe University Frankfurt 291 301 101
University of Cologne 308 157 151
University of Mannheim 314 157 –
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 319 183 201
Ulm University 340 141 201
Friedrich Schiller University Jena 340 – 301
University of Münster 347 189 151
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz 410 301 201
University of Konstanz 424 201 401
Ruhr University Bochum 432 251 301
University of Würzburg 462 163 201
Saarland University 468 – 501
Kiel University 478 251 201
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 511 – 401
University of Bremen 521 351 501
Technische Universität Braunschweig 521 601 501
Justus Liebig University 521 351 501
Leipzig University 531 – 201
University of Bayreuth 541 351 501
University of Regensburg 601 – 501
University of Duisburg-Essen 601 194 301
University of Hohenheim 651 201 701
University of Marburg 651 301 501
Leibniz Universität Hannover 651 401 501
University of Potsdam 701 251 401
University of Rostock 751 – 501
Bielefeld University 751 166 501
TU Dortmund University 751 351 501
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf 751 – 201
University of Siegen 801 501 –
Paderborn University – – 801
University of Kassel – – 801
University of Augsburg – – 801
Technische Universität Chemnitz – 601 801
University of Magdeburg – – 601
Universität zu Lübeck – – 601
University of Greifswald – 501 601
University of Oldenburg – – 501
Hannover Medical School – – 301
University of Passau – 251 –
University of Kaiserslautern – 601 –
Jacobs University Bremen – 301 –
Ilmenau University of Technology – 801 –
Hamburg University of Technology – 501 –
University of Wuppertal – 501 –

Explained: How do the university rankings work?

The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).

The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.

Study in Germany Germany - Flag

For many international students, Germany is the ideal country to study abroad: World-leading universities, many English-language study options especially at the postgraduate level, and no tuition fees at public universities. For these reasons and more, every year around 100,000 students from around the world choose to come to Germany for their university education.

Read more about studying in Germany

Find the right study programme for yourself:

Bachelors degrees in Germany
Masters degrees in Germany
PhD programmes in Germany

Relevant links

  • Studying abroad in Germany: Basic information for international students
  • Study programmes in Germany
  • Visit the website of the QS World University Rankings
  • Visit the website of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
  • Visit the website of the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities

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