A closer look at how Germany’s top universities performed in the 2010 QS World University Rankings®
German institutions have good reason to be content with the results of the 2010 QS World University Rankings®. All but six German institutions in the QS Top 500 were able to better their 2009 position, while universities in the Top 200 were able to gain an average of 20 positions, placing German universities among the highest climbers.
The Top Five:
51. Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg climbed closer to the prestigious Top 50 in the 2010 QS World University Rankings®, rising six places to position 51. A contributing factor to the institution’s performance this year was its result in the academic peer review, in which it was voted by experts around the world as one of the top 50 universities. However, a Top 300 score for its employer reputation, and Top 200 scores for its citations per faculty, international faculty and international students, meant a position in the Top 50 was still slightly out of reach. In subject ranking performances, the institution placed 24 for natural sciences, 36 for arts and humanities, 45 for life sciences and medicine, and 82 for social sciences and management.
58. Technische Universität München (TUM)
Although the second best-performing German university, Technische Universität München (TUM) fell three places in the 2010 QS World University Rankings®, down to 58 from its 2009 performance of 55=. However, 2010 was the year for technical institutes, as shown by MIT’s rise from nine to five, and TUM was no exception. It was the top-ranked German university for engineering and technology, at 36=. It also demonstrated its strength in the natural sciences, ranking 25=. TUM’s performance in the employer reputation criteria is also an indication that this technical university is producing the type of graduates that employers around the world are looking for.
66. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
One of the best-performing institutes in the 2010 QS World University Rankings® Top 100, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) jumped 32 places to rank 66 this year. LMU also performed well across four out of five subject areas: it was Germany’s top-ranked university for social sciences and management, ranking 40 in the world; the nation’s second-best university for both natural sciences (25=) and life sciences and medicine (50=), and its third-best university for arts and humanities (34). However, across all criteria, LMU had a mixed bag of results. Despite scoring highly for its academic reputation and its citations per faculty, it ranked substantially lower in the other four fields.
70. Freie Universität Berlin
Hovering around the 100 mark in 2009, this year Freie Universität Berlin climbed 24 places to 70 in the 2010 QS World University Rankings®. This is likely to be a direct result of its performance in both the academic reputation criteria and citations per faculty, both of which indicate a research-active and academically respected institution. Freie Universität Berlin also performed well in three of the broad subject rankings: arts and humanities (25), sciences and medicine (64), and social sciences and management (53).
97. Universität Freiburg
A new entrant in the Top 100 universities in 2010 is Universität Freiburg. Ranked at 97, Freiburg made an impressive leap from 122= last year. However, despite making an impression in the Top 100 universities overall, the university only features in the Top 100 in one broad subject area – arts and humanities, where it ranks 47. Students considering Universität Freiburg as a study destination for their undergraduate degree can be assured of a good student/faculty ratio – this institution is ranked in the world’s top 50 for that particular criterion, indicating an effort to ensure students get a substantial amount of personal attention.
Around Germany
A number of institutions in the QS Top 500 made big leaps in 2010, including Universität Würzburg, which climbed an impressive 94 places to rank 215, and Münster, which vaulted 81 places to 325th position.
There is a distinct upward trend for German institutions in this year’s QS World University Rankings® with 12 universities making it into the Top 200, and a total of 44 universities represented among the QS Top 500 worldwide. En masse, this constitutes the third-best country result featured in the QS World University Rankings®, just behind the UK with 54 institutions and the US with 130.
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