Rankings: The 61 best universities in Germany for 2020/2021

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

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.