Top ranking for Heidelberg University
Heidelberg University has defended its place among the top three German universities and also continues to be one of the best universities in Europe and the world. In the latest QS World University Ranking 2018/2019 it occupies third place in Germany after the Technical University of Munich (61) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (62). In an international comparison, Heidelberg University now ranks 64th, after advancing by four positions to 68th place last year.
In the European-wide comparison, the university also showed improvement, advancing two positions into 18th. Heidelberg University had already moved up one level last year into 20th position. Ruperto Carola and the two Munich universities are the only German universities represented in the "Top 100" in the QS Rankings.
The QS World University Rankings weights academic reputation (40 percent), faculty-student ratio, and citations per faculty (20 percent each). Other criteria are employer reputation (10 percent) and the share of international scholars and international students (5 percent each). The current rankings included 1,000 universities from 85 countries.
According to the new QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018, Heidelberg University leads the country in medicine and the life sciences, with an international ranking of 40th. The QS Subject Ranking published at the end of February consists of two parts: broad subject rankings as well as rankings in individual subject areas. Heidelberg placed first in the Germany-wide comparison in medicine (45th worldwide) and theology (14th worldwide). The classics and ancient history were included in the individual rankings for the first time, with Ruperto Carola placing ninth internationally and third in Germany.
Heidelberg University also fared extremely well in other individual disciplines. Along with the classics and theology in the Arts and Humanities field, Heidelberg ranks among the world's top 50 universities in archaeology (37th) and philosophy (42nd), with archaeology placing third in Germany. In the Life Sciences & Medicine, Heidelberg biology placed 40th internationally, joining medicine in the international top-50 list. In Germany, biology is in second place. In the Natural Sciences, physics and astronomy at Ruperto Carola hold a ranking of 32nd internationally and third in the country.
The evaluations of the broad subject areas and individual subjects are based primarily on data from the QS World University Ranking. In addition to citation analyses, indicators include data from academic and employer surveys evaluated by subject area. The indicators are weighted differently in each subject.
In the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2018, Heidelberg University placed in the 51-60 ranking group, earning it second place in Germany behind Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (49th). A total of six German universities made the world's top-100 list based on international reputation, including Humboldt University of Berlin and the Technical University of Munich (61-70), Berlin's Free University (81-90), and RWTH Aachen University (91-100). The current World Reputation Rankings from Times Higher Education (THE) were released at the end of May. They are based on a worldwide survey of more than 10,000 academics in 138 countries. Scholars are asked to name the institutions that they believe are the best for research and teaching in their field.
