Rankings: The 59 best universities in Germany for 2019/2020

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 2019	ARWU Ranking 2018
Technical University of Munich (TUM)	55	44	48
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich	63	32	53
Heidelberg University	66	47	47
Humboldt University Berlin	120	67	–
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)	124	135	201
Freie Universität Berlin	130	104	–
RWTH Aachen University	138	87	201
Technische Universität Berlin	147	131	301
University of Tübingen	169	89	151
University of Freiburg	169	76	101
Technische Universität Dresden	179	151	151
University of Göttingen	197	123	99
Universität Hamburg	227	135	151
University of Bonn	243	110	101
TU Darmstadt	260	251	401
University of Stuttgart	279	251	301
Goethe University Frankfurt	291	251	101
University of Cologne	308	146	151
University of Mannheim	314	123	–
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg	319	175	201
Ulm University	340	149	201
Friedrich Schiller University Jena	340	–	301
University of Münster	347	184	151
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz	410	251	201
University of Konstanz	424	189	401
Ruhr University Bochum	432	251	301
Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg	462	159	151
Saarland University	468	–	501
Kiel University	478	201	201
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg	511	–	401
University of Bremen	521	301	401
Technische Universität Braunschweig	521	–	501
Justus Liebig University	521	351	601
Leipzig University	531	–	151
University of Bayreuth	541	301	401
University of Regensburg	601	–	501
University of Duisburg-Essen	601	190	301
University of Marburg	651	251	301
University of Hohenheim	651	201	601
Leibniz Universität Hannover	651	401	401
University of Potsdam	701	201	501
University of Rostock	751	–	401
TU Dortmund University	751	301	501
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	751	–	301
Bielefeld University	751	201	401
University of Siegen	801	401	–
University of Wuppertal	–	–	901
University of Oldenburg	–	–	501
University of Magdeburg	–	601	801
University of Greifswald	–	401	901
Universität zu Lübeck	–	–	801
Technische Universität Chemnitz	–	501	801
Paderborn University	–	–	901
Hannover Medical School	–	–	301
University of Passau	–	201	–
Jacobs University Bremen	–	251	–
Hamburg University of Technology	–	401	–
University of Kaiserslautern	–	401	–
Ilmenau University of Technology	–	601	–

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

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.