The top 60 best universities in Germany: 2024 rankings

Top ranked universities in Germany

University	QS Ranking 2024	THE Ranking 2024	ARWU Ranking 2023
Technical University of Munich (TUM)	37	30	59
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich	54	38	59
Heidelberg University	87	47	55
Freie Universität Berlin	98	102	–
RWTH Aachen University	106	90	201
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)	119	140	301
Humboldt University Berlin	120	87	–
Technische Universität Berlin	154	136	201
University of Freiburg	192	128	101
Universität Hamburg	205	136	201
University of Tübingen	213	95	151
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg	229	193	201
University of Göttingen	232	111	151
University of Bonn	239	91	67
Technische Universität Dresden	246	161	201
TU Darmstadt	246	251	401
University of Cologne	268	160	151
Goethe University Frankfurt	302	201	151
University of Stuttgart	312	251	301
Ruhr University Bochum	375	251	301
University of Münster	384	193	201
Justus Liebig University	396	351	601
University of Würzburg	440	175	201
University of Mannheim	454	187	–
University of Potsdam	460	201	401
Friedrich Schiller University Jena	461	201	401
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz	464	251	201
University of Konstanz	478	251	501
Leipzig University	479	–	201
Leibniz Universität Hannover	481	351	501
University of Bayreuth	509	351	501
University of Bremen	514	301	601
Kiel University	530	301	201
Ulm University	542	193	401
Saarland University	600	–	501
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg	611	–	601
University of Hohenheim	651	251	–
University of Regensburg	741	–	401
Technische Universität Braunschweig	751	501	701
University of Marburg	761	401	401
University of Rostock	761	–	501
University of Duisburg-Essen	771	–	301
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	801	251	301
TU Dortmund University	851	401	–
Bielefeld University	951	–	701
University of Siegen	1001	601	–
TU Bergakademie Freiberg	1401	–	–
Hamburg University of Technology	1401	501	–
RPTU	1401	601	–
Constructor University	–	401	–
Ilmenau University of Technology	–	1001	–
Leuphana University Lüneburg	–	501	–
University of Greifswald	–	401	–
University of Magdeburg	–	601	–
University of Passau	–	401	–
University of Wuppertal	–	501	801
Hannover Medical School	–	–	401
Universität zu Lübeck	–	–	601
University of Kassel	–	–	801
University of Oldenburg	–	–	801

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.