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Best universities in Germany 2024

Find the best universities in Germany in 2024 through Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data

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September 27 2023
Humboldt University of Berlin

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Top 10 universities in Germany 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in Germany 

Germany Rank 2024  World University Rank 2024   World University Rank 2023  University City/town
1  =30   30  Technical University of Munich Munich
2  =38   33  LMU Munich Munich
3  47   43  Universität Heidelberg Heidelberg
4  =87   =86  Humboldt University of Berlin Berlin
5  90   =99  RWTH Aachen University Aachen
6  91   89  University of Bonn Bonn
7  94   73  Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin
8  =95   =86  University of Tübingen Tübingen
9  102   =91  Free University of Berlin Berlin
10  =111   =119  University of Göttingen Göttingen

This league table reveals the best universities in Germany, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

The Technical University of Munich takes first place, followed by LMU Munich


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The top universities in Germany are scattered throughout the country, with options to study in Munich, Berlin and 40 other cities. The top university in Berlin is Humboldt University of Berlin

In total, 49 universities in Germany are counted among the very best in the world.

More than 500 degrees (bachelor’s and master’s programmes) are taught in English at top German universities. Whatever subject you are interested in, you can study that degree in English in Germany.

Top 5 universities in Germany

5. RWTH Aachen University

RWTH Aachen University was founded in 1870 with a strong focus on engineering and the local mining industry. 

It has since expanded to become the largest technical university in Germany, offering courses in engineering, life sciences and medicine, arts and humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, and management and architecture. 

The world’s first wind tunnel and particle accelerator were both developed at RWTH Aachen. Major innovations created on site include a pioneering aircraft made entirely of metal and a diesel soot filter.

The university also has strong ties to industries and created a European equivalent of Silicon Valley around it. 

4.  Humboldt University of Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin is located in the country’s capital, Berlin, which is a popular destination for international students.

The university is made up of nine faculties, including its medical faculty, which it shares with the Free University of Berlin.

The main building of Humboldt University is on Unter den Linden boulevard, surrounded by a range of other historic buildings, museums and art galleries.

The university has an impressive list of alumni and former faculty, including physicists Albert Einstein, Max Planck and Erwin Schrödinger, collectors of folk tales Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm and philosopher Karl Marx.

3.  Universität Heidelberg

Universität Heidelberg, founded in 1386, is the oldest university in Germany.

Close to 20 per cent of the student body is international, representing 130 countries. More than a third of doctoral students are international.

The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in 160 study programmes. Academics at Heidelberg have been responsible for founding sub-disciplines including psychiatric genetics, modern sociology and environmental physics.

The university is particularly renowned for its innovative research and intellectual contributions across a range of subjects. Some 27 Nobel laureates have been associated with Universität Heidelberg, nine of whom won the prize while tenured there.

Many influential politicians, philosophers and scientists are alumni or affiliates of the university, including Max Weber – the founder of modern sociology – and philosopher Hannah Arendt.

Heidelberg is known as the home of German Romanticism, and the Old Town and castle are some of the most visited tourist destinations in Germany.


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2.  LMU Munich

LMU Munich was founded in 1472, making it one of Germany’s oldest universities.

The university is affiliated with 42 Nobel laureates, including renowned scientists such as Otto Hahn, Max Planck and Werner Heisenberg.

With the second-largest student population of any university in Germany, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich – to use its full name – attracts a large number of international students, about 13 per cent of the total student body.

Since the end of the 18th century, the university has had a strong focus on natural sciences and has produced world-leading research and innovations.

The German Universities Excellence Initiative, launched in 2005, has provided funding for LMU Munich, as well as other leading universities in the country.

1.  Technical University of Munich

The Technical University of Munich is the only state university dedicated to science and technology.

Since 1927, 17 Nobel prizes have been awarded in physics, chemistry and medicine to academics affiliated with the university.

Founded in the 19th century, the university originally focused on engineering, but has expanded over the years to include natural sciences, social sciences, agriculture, brewing and food technology, and medicine. Many specialisms within engineering and information technology are offered across three departments.

An overarching philosophy of “the entrepreneurial university” guides the development of the institution, which now has 15 departments across three campuses in and around Munich.


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Best universities in Germany 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

Germany Rank 2024  World University Rank 2024   World University Rank 2023  University City/town
1  =30   30  Technical University of Munich Munich
2  =38   33  LMU Munich Munich
3  47   43  Universität Heidelberg Heidelberg
4  =87   =86  Humboldt University of Berlin Berlin
5  90   =99  RWTH Aachen University Aachen
6  91   89  University of Bonn Bonn
7  94   73  Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin
8  =95   =86  University of Tübingen Tübingen
9  102   =91  Free University of Berlin Berlin
10  =111   =119  University of Göttingen Göttingen
11  128   113  University of Freiburg Freiburg
=12  =136   =128  University of Hamburg Hamburg
=12  =136   =156  Technical University of Berlin Berlin
14  =140   =189  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe
15  160   146  University of Cologne Cologne
16  =161   =156  TU Dresden Dresden
17  =175   =139  University of Würzburg Würzburg
18  =187   179  University of Mannheim Mannheim
=19  =193   =196  University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Nuremberg and Erlangen
=19  =193   185  University of Münster Münster
=19  =193   =148  Ulm University Ulm
=22  201–250   =189  Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena
=22  201–250   251–300  Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt
=22  201–250   201–250  University of Potsdam Potsdam
=25  251–300   251–300  Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Düsseldorf
=25  251–300   201–250  University of Hohenheim Hohenheim
=25  251–300   251–300  Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Mainz
=25  251–300   201–250  University of Konstanz Konstanz
=25  251–300   251–300  Ruhr University Bochum Bochum
=25  251–300   301–350  University of Stuttgart Stuttgart
=25  251–300   301–350  Technical University of Darmstadt Darmstadt
=32  301–350   351–400  University of Bremen Bremen
=32  301–350   251–300  University of Kiel Kiel
=34  351–400   401–500  University of Bayreuth Bayreuth
=34  351–400   401–500  Justus Liebig University Giessen Giessen
=34  351–400   401–500  Leibniz University Hannover Hannover
=37  401–500   501–600  Constructor University Bremen Bremen
=37  401–500   351–400  University of Greifswald Greifswald
=37  401–500   401–500  University of Marburg Marburg
=37  401–500   401–500  University of Passau Passau
=37  401–500   501–600  TU Dortmund University Dortmund
=42  501–600   601–800  Hamburg University of Technology Hamburg
=42  501–600   351–400  Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg
=42  501–600   601–800  TU Braunschweig Braunschweig
=42  501–600   601–800  University of Wuppertal Wuppertal
=46  601–800   601–800  University of Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern
=46  601–800   NR  Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg Magdeburg
=46  601–800   801–1000  University of Siegen Siegen
49  1001–1200   1001–1200  Ilmenau University of Technology Ilmenau

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