TUM is the best university in Germany

TUM in Rankings

8/17/2026
Reading time 1 min.

According to the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (“Shanghai Ranking”), the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is the top-ranked university in Germany. TUM ranks 45th worldwide in the prestigious university ranking, making it one of only two German universities in the top 50

Astrid Eckert / TUM

Key evaluation criteria include, among others, publications in leading journals such as Nature and Science.

Prestigious Shanghai Ranking places TUM 45th worldwide
TUM is the highest-ranked university in Germany
Only two German universities are among the top 50

The next-highest-ranked German universities are LMU Munich (49th) and Heidelberg University (59th)

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), better known as the Shanghai Ranking, is published annually and evaluates the research performance of universities around the world. The ranking was developed at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Key evaluation criteria include publications in leading journals such as Nature and Science, researchers’ citation rates, and the number of Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners associated with an institution. The Fields Medal is one of the highest honors in mathematics.

The Shanghai Subject Rankings compare individual academic disciplines each year. In several subjects, TUM’s research performance ranks among the world’s best. Most recently, TUM was among the global top 10 in agricultural sciences and remote sensing, and among the top 25 in medical technology, ecology, and robotics. In four additional subjects, it ranks among the world’s top 50 universities

The Shanghai Ranking is considered one of the most respected university rankings worldwide, alongside the QS World University Rankings, in which TUM ranks 25th, and the THE World University Rankings in which TUM ranks 27th. In both of these rankings, TUM is the highest-ranked university in the European Union

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