Ruperto Carola again takes its place among the best three universities in Germany: In the recently published Academic Ranking of World Universities 2021, known as the Shanghai Ranking, Heidelberg places third after Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (48st) and the Technical University of Munich (52th). Ruperto Carola places 57th internationally and 18th among universities in Europe. At 84th, the University of Bonn is the fourth German university in the Shanghai Ranking's "Top 100".

The Shanghai Ranking especially measures an institution’s scientific influence, making research a key factor in the evaluation. Publications and citations in international scientific journals, most frequently cited researchers, and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals each make up 20% of the final score. The remaining indicators include, amongst others, the alumni recipients of one of these two outstanding awards.