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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 2024World University Rank 2024 World University Rank 2023 UniversityCity/town
1=30 30 Technical University of MunichMunich
2=38 33 LMU MunichMunich
347 43 Universität HeidelbergHeidelberg
4=87 =86 Humboldt University of BerlinBerlin
590 =99 RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen
691 89 University of BonnBonn
794 73 Charité - Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlin
8=95 =86 University of TübingenTübingen
9102 =91 Free University of BerlinBerlin
10=111 =119 University of GöttingenGöttingen

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

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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, chemical 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 (chemical, electrical, civil) 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 2024World University Rank 2024 World University Rank 2023 UniversityCity/town
1=30 30 Technical University of MunichMunich
2=38 33 LMU MunichMunich
347 43 Universität HeidelbergHeidelberg
4=87 =86 Humboldt University of BerlinBerlin
590 =99 RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen
691 89 University of BonnBonn
794 73 Charité - Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlin
8=95 =86 University of TübingenTübingen
9102 =91 Free University of BerlinBerlin
10=111 =119 University of GöttingenGöttingen
11128 113 University of FreiburgFreiburg
=12=136 =128 University of HamburgHamburg
=12=136 =156 Technical University of BerlinBerlin
14=140 =189 Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyKarlsruhe
15160 146 University of CologneCologne
16=161 =156 TU DresdenDresden
17=175 =139 University of WürzburgWürzburg
18=187 179 University of MannheimMannheim
=19=193 =196 University of Erlangen-NurembergNuremberg and Erlangen
=19=193 185 University of MünsterMünster
=19=193 =148 Ulm UniversityUlm
=22201–250 =189 Friedrich Schiller University JenaJena
=22201–250 251–300 Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt
=22201–250 201–250 University of PotsdamPotsdam
=25251–300 251–300 Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
=25251–300 201–250 University of HohenheimHohenheim
=25251–300 251–300 Johannes Gutenberg University of MainzMainz
=25251–300 201–250 University of KonstanzKonstanz
=25251–300 251–300 Ruhr University BochumBochum
=25251–300 301–350 University of StuttgartStuttgart
=25251–300 301–350 Technical University of DarmstadtDarmstadt
=32301–350 351–400 University of BremenBremen
=32301–350 251–300 University of KielKiel
=34351–400 401–500 University of BayreuthBayreuth
=34351–400 401–500 Justus Liebig University GiessenGiessen
=34351–400 401–500 Leibniz University HannoverHannover
=37401–500 501–600 Constructor University BremenBremen
=37401–500 351–400 University of GreifswaldGreifswald
=37401–500 401–500 University of MarburgMarburg
=37401–500 401–500 University of PassauPassau
=37401–500 501–600 TU Dortmund UniversityDortmund
=42501–600 601–800 Hamburg University of TechnologyHamburg
=42501–600 351–400 Leuphana University of LüneburgLüneburg
=42501–600 601–800 TU BraunschweigBraunschweig
=42501–600 601–800 University of WuppertalWuppertal
=46601–800 601–800 University of KaiserslauternKaiserslautern
=46601–800 NR Otto von Guericke University of MagdeburgMagdeburg
=46601–800 801–1000 University of SiegenSiegen
491001–1200 1001–1200 Ilmenau University of TechnologyIlmenau

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