Rankings: The 59 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 2021	THE Ranking 2021	ARWU Ranking 2020
Technical University of Munich (TUM)	50	41	54
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich	63	32	51
Heidelberg University	64	42	57
Humboldt University Berlin	117	80	–
Freie Universität Berlin	130	118	–
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)	131	201	201
RWTH Aachen University	145	107	201
Technische Universität Berlin	148	140	301
Technische Universität Dresden	173	152	201
University of Freiburg	175	83	101
University of Tübingen	175	78	151
University of Göttingen	195	130	101
Universität Hamburg	228	135	201
University of Bonn	240	114	87
TU Darmstadt	267	301	401
University of Cologne	282	145	151
University of Mannheim	307	140	–
Goethe University Frankfurt	311	251	101
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg	317	198	201
Friedrich Schiller University Jena	323	251	401
University of Stuttgart	333	351	301
Ulm University	344	140	301
University of Münster	356	195	151
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz	403	301	201
University of Würzburg	437	140	201
Ruhr University Bochum	439	251	401
University of Konstanz	443	251	601
Saarland University	451	–	501
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg	470	–	501
Leipzig University	483	–	201
Kiel University	501	251	201
University of Bayreuth	521	351	701
Justus Liebig University	531	401	701
University of Bremen	541	401	501
Technische Universität Braunschweig	551	601	601
University of Regensburg	601	–	501
University of Hohenheim	651	201	701
University of Marburg	651	301	401
Leibniz Universität Hannover	651	501	601
University of Rostock	701	–	501
University of Duisburg-Essen	751	201	301
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	751	–	301
TU Dortmund University	801	401	801
Bielefeld University	801	158	701
University of Potsdam	801	251	401
University of Kaiserslautern	–	601	–
University of Greifswald	–	301	–
Jacobs University Bremen	–	251	–
Ilmenau University of Technology	–	801	–
Hamburg University of Technology	–	601	–
University of Wuppertal	–	601	801
University of Siegen	–	601	–
University of Passau	–	301	–
University of Oldenburg	–	–	801
University of Kassel	–	–	701
Universität zu Lübeck	–	–	701
University of Magdeburg	–	–	601
Hannover Medical School	–	–	401
Leuphana University Lüneburg	–	–	901

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.