The top 62 best universities in Germany: 2025 rankings

Top ranked universities in Germany

University	QS Ranking 2025	THE Ranking 2025	ARWU Ranking 2024
Technical University of Munich (TUM)	28	26	47
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich	59	38	43
Heidelberg University	84	47	50
Freie Universität Berlin	97	104	–
RWTH Aachen University	99	92	201
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)	102	166	201
Humboldt University Berlin	126	84	–
Technische Universität Berlin	147	140	201
Universität Hamburg	191	132	201
University of Freiburg	212	128	101
University of Tübingen	222	100	151
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg	224	201	201
University of Bonn	227	89	61
Technische Universität Dresden	234	160	201
TU Darmstadt	241	251	401
University of Göttingen	252	121	151
University of Cologne	285	157	151
Goethe University Frankfurt	309	201	151
University of Stuttgart	314	251	301
University of Münster	367	188	151
TU Bergakademie Freiberg	380	–	–
Ruhr University Bochum	396	301	201
Leibniz Universität Hannover	426	351	401
University of Würzburg	428	163	201
Justus Liebig University	445	351	501
University of Konstanz	466	251	501
University of Potsdam	474	201	301
University of Mannheim	487	199	–
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz	501	251	151
Friedrich Schiller University Jena	526	201	301
Leipzig University	527	–	201
University of Bayreuth	527	301	401
Ulm University	554	199	301
University of Bremen	592	301	501
Saarland University	601	–	401
University of Hohenheim	601	301	901
Kiel University	611	301	201
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg	671	–	401
University of Regensburg	741	–	301
Technische Universität Braunschweig	751	501	601
University of Marburg	801	401	301
TU Dortmund University	801	401	701
University of Duisburg-Essen	801	251	301
University of Rostock	801	–	501
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	851	251	201
Bielefeld University	1001	–	601
University of Siegen	1001	501	–
RPTU	1201	601	901
Leuphana University Lüneburg	–	401	–
University of Greifswald	–	401	701
Constructor University	–	501	–
Hamburg University of Technology	–	501	–
Paderborn University	–	501	–
University of Passau	–	501	–
University of Wuppertal	–	501	901
Ilmenau University of Technology	–	1001	–
Hannover Medical School	–	–	401
Universität zu Lübeck	–	–	601
University of Augsburg	–	–	701
University of Magdeburg	–	–	701
University of Oldenburg	–	–	701
University of Kassel	–	–	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.