The 9 most renowned Universities in Germany

In the rankings various values, for example how many lecturers there are for how many students, the number of publications from the respective institutions, how often these in turn are cited, or also how much research funding is provided by industry, are processed into an overall ranking. How well a university does here, however, also depends to a large extent on how well they prepare themselves for the rankings and how much they insist their staff always includes the title of the institution when they publish something, for example. Indeed, the evaluated data must be voluntarily prepared and submitted by the universities in order to participate. Thus, the rankings do not allow us to draw direct conclusions about the overall quality of teaching. Nevertheless, they do have an enormous influence on the international reputation of universities and are therefore of interest to you if you would like to work in research later on or if you are aiming for absolute top positions, especially in international companies. In our list, you will find all the universities that have landed in the top 10 of Germany in at least two of three rankings.

The LMU is without question one of the best-known and most renowned universities in the country. It was founded as early as 1472 and offers a very broad range of subjects in 18 faculties. Particularly exceptional is the relatively wide range of English-language programs and master's programs specially designed for international students. In addition, the university has been part of the German government's Excellence Initiative since 2006.

The TUM is also located in Munich and is one of the largest technical universities in the country. In terms of content, the university is clearly focused on natural sciences and technical subjects; humanities and social sciences are hardly taught here. In return, there are numerous integrated research centers. The TU Munich has also been part of the German government's Excellence Initiative since 2006.

Heidelberg University is the oldest German university and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded in Baden-Württemberg as early as 1386. It is also part of Germany's excellence strategy. The range of subjects at Heidelberg University is very broad. However, the university is best known for its medical, law and philological faculties.

The University of Tübingen is also one of the oldest in Europe and was founded in 1477. The institution is particularly respected in the fields of theology, medicine, law, economics and social sciences. Since 2012, the university, which is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, has held excellence status.

The largest university of the German capital is also one of the 20 largest universities in the entire country. It has been part of the excellence strategy since 2012. A wide variety of subjects are offered here, but primarily in the arts and humanities. The Charité, probably the best-known medical university in the country, is also part of the HU and the FU Berlin (see below), but is examined individually by THE's ranking.

Together with the HU, the FU Berlin forms a so-called cluster of excellence. The university's range of courses covers areas of natural and geological sciences, history and culture, political and social sciences, economics, as well as mathematics, computer science, law, psychology, and veterinary medicine. The Charité, probably the best-known university medicine in the country, is also part of the FU and HU Berlin (see above), but is examined individually by THE's ranking.

With the University of Freiburg, we once again have a university from Baden-Württemberg in the list, which is also one of the oldest in the country. It is currently part of a cluster of excellence. The university offers a wide range of courses, especially in the natural sciences, but also in philosophy, philology and theology.

Germany's largest technical university is also one of the universities in the Excellence Initiative. In line with this orientation, the university primarily offers technical, scientific and engineering degree programs. Located in North Rhine-Westphalia, the university was founded in 1870.

The University of Bonn is also one of the largest universities in Germany. It is located in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia. The university's graduates include world-famous philosophers such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Jürgen Habermas. It is also one of the state's universities of excellence. In addition to subjects from the fields of religion and philosophy, the main subjects offered here are law, medicine, mathematics and natural sciences, as well as agriculture.

The following universities also appear particularly frequently at the top of the major rankings: the Goethe University Frankfurt, the University of Göttingen, the University of Cologne, the University of Münster, the KIT Karlsruhe, the TU Berlin and the TU Dresden.

If you have already decided on Germany as a university location, other factors than the international comparison might be of interest to you. Especially if you are less interested in the reputation of the entire university and more in the quality of the individual subjects, the CHE ranking could be interesting for you. Here you can select a subject area and the desired degree and then look at comparative evaluations in various aspects, such as international orientation or contact with work professionals.

Also interesting is the ranking of the German website 'Study-Check', where students can rate their universities. According to these ratings, the website compiles a ranking of the most popular universities. Of course, the ranking is thus also very much dependent on how many students of the respective institution rate their university and is not representative. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how actual students describe their experiences at the universities. Besides, it is mainly universities of applied sciences that are found in the first places here. The list is headed by the Fachhochschule für die Wirtschaft Hannover (FHDW Hannover), the KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the Hochschule Landshut, the Hochschule Aalen and the Internationale Hochschule Duales Studium (IUBH).

Overall, it is certainly the case that teaching at German universities is of a relatively high quality. Of course, the rankings give an indication of particularly prestigious institutions whose names look good on a CV. However, they should also not be overrated. It is often more interesting to see in which subjects the universities actually stand out than how they are rated in general. Nevertheless, the rankings may help you to reconsider your own priorities on your university wish list.