Best universities in Germany 2023

Top 10 universities in Germany

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in Germany 

Germany Rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City/town
1	30	Technical University of Munich	Munich
2	33	LMU Munich	Munich
3	43	Heidelberg University	Heidelberg
4	73	Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin	Berlin
=5	=86	Humboldt University of Berlin	Berlin
=5	=86	University of Tübingen	Tübingen
7	89	University of Bonn	Bonn
8	=91	Free University of Berlin	Berlin
9	=99	RWTH Aachen University	Aachen
10	113	University of Freiburg	Freiburg

This league table reveals the best universities in Germany, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.

The Technical University of Munich is the top university in Germany, 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 Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

In total, 50 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 4 universities in Germany

4.  Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe.

More than half of Germany’s  Nobel prizewinners in medicine and physiology have studied or worked at the university.

It can trace its roots back to 1710, when the hospital was built in response to the plague in eastern Prussia. In 2003, it merged with other medical institutes in Germany and took on its current name.

Many famous scientists and physicians have worked or studied at the university, among them neurologist Carl Wernicke, psychiatrist Karl Leonhard and Rahel Hirsch, the first female medical professor in Prussia.

3.  Heidelberg University

Heidelberg University, 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 subdisciplines 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 Heidelberg University, 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 2023

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2023 results

Germany Rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City/town
1	30	Technical University of Munich	Munich
2	33	LMU Munich	Munich
3	43	Heidelberg University	Heidelberg
4	73	Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin	Berlin
=5	=86	Humboldt University of Berlin	Berlin
=5	=86	University of Tübingen	Tübingen
7	89	University of Bonn	Bonn
8	=91	Free University of Berlin	Berlin
9	=99	RWTH Aachen University	Aachen
10	113	University of Freiburg	Freiburg
11	=119	University of Göttingen	Göttingen
12	=128	University of Hamburg	Hamburg
13	=139	University of Würzburg	Würzburg
14	146	University of Cologne	Cologne
15	=148	Ulm University	Ulm
=16	=156	Technical University of Berlin	Berlin
=16	=156	TU Dresden	Dresden
18	179	University of Mannheim	Mannheim
19	185	University of Münster	Münster
=20	=189	Friedrich Schiller University Jena	Jena
=20	=189	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Karlsruhe
22	=196	University of Erlangen-Nuremberg	Nuremberg and Erlangen
=23	201–250	Bielefeld University	Bielefield
=23	201–250	University of Hohenheim	Hohenheim
=23	201–250	University of Konstanz	Konstanz
=23	201–250	University of Potsdam	Potsdam
=27	251–300	University of Duisburg-Essen	Essen and Duisburg
=27	251–300	Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	Düsseldorf
=27	251–300	Goethe University Frankfurt	Frankfurt
=27	251–300	Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz	Mainz
=27	251–300	University of Kiel	Kiel
=27	251–300	Ruhr University Bochum	Bochum
=33	301–350	University of Stuttgart	Stuttgart
=33	301–350	Technical University of Darmstadt	Darmstadt
=35	351–400	University of Bremen	Bremen
=35	351–400	University of Greifswald	Greifswald
=35	351–400	Leuphana University of Lüneburg	Lüneburg
=38	401–500	University of Bayreuth	Bayreuth
=38	401–500	Justus Liebig University Giessen	Giessen
=38	401–500	Leibniz University Hannover	Hannover
=38	401–500	University of Marburg	Marburg
=38	401–500	University of Passau	Passau
=43	501–600	Jacobs University	Bremen
=43	501–600	TU Dortmund University	Dortmund
=45	601–800	Hamburg University of Technology	Hamburg
=45	601–800	University of Kaiserslautern	Kaiserslautern
=45	601–800	TU Braunschweig	Braunschweig
=45	601–800	University of Wuppertal	Wuppertal
=49	801–1000	University of Siegen	Siegen
50	1001–1200	Ilmenau University of Technology	Ilmenau