The top 62 best universities in Germany: 2025 rankings

Top ranked universities in Germany

University	QS Ranking 2026	THE Ranking 2025	ARWU Ranking 2024
Technical University of Munich (TUM)	22	26	47
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich	58	38	43
Heidelberg University	80	47	50
Freie Universität Berlin	88	104	–
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)	98	166	201
RWTH Aachen University	105	92	201
Humboldt University Berlin	130	84	–
Technische Universität Berlin	145	140	201
Universität Hamburg	193	132	201
University of Freiburg	201	128	101
University of Bonn	207	89	61
University of Tübingen	215	100	151
Technische Universität Dresden	218	160	201
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg	232	201	201
University of Göttingen	243	121	151
TU Darmstadt	253	251	401
University of Cologne	272	157	151
University of Stuttgart	310	251	301
Goethe University Frankfurt	316	201	151
University of Münster	350	188	151
Ruhr University Bochum	395	301	201
University of Mannheim	416	199	–
University of Würzburg	416	163	201
Leibniz Universität Hannover	433	351	401
University of Konstanz	440	251	501
University of Bayreuth	448	301	401
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz	452	251	151
University of Potsdam	477	201	301
TU Bergakademie Freiberg	487	–	–
Justus Liebig University	496	351	501
University of Bremen	530	301	501
Leipzig University	535	–	201
Ulm University	546	199	301
Friedrich Schiller University Jena	575	201	301
Kiel University	618	301	201
Saarland University	635	–	401
TU Dortmund University	673	401	701
University of Regensburg	691	–	301
University of Hohenheim	711	301	901
Technische Universität Braunschweig	711	501	601
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg	751	–	401
University of Marburg	771	401	301
University of Duisburg-Essen	801	251	301
University of Rostock	851	–	501
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	851	251	201
Bielefeld University	1001	–	601
University of Siegen	1201	501	–
RPTU	1201	601	901
University of Kassel	–	–	801
University of Oldenburg	–	–	701
University of Magdeburg	–	–	701
University of Augsburg	–	–	701
Universität zu Lübeck	–	–	601
Leuphana University Lüneburg	–	401	–
Hannover Medical School	–	–	401
University of Greifswald	–	401	701
Constructor University	–	501	–
Ilmenau University of Technology	–	1001	–
University of Wuppertal	–	501	901
University of Passau	–	501	–
Hamburg University of Technology	–	501	–
Paderborn University	–	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.