2 German universities rank among the top 20 in Europe

2 German universities rank among the top 20 in Europe

Two German universities have been named among the top 20 in Europe in QS’s latest ranking of universities across the continent. However, experts caution that the ranking should be approached with a “healthy dose of scepticism.”

QS European Universities Ranking 2025

For the second time, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a higher education analytics company, has published a report exclusively focused on universities and institutes of higher education in Europe.

Although QS does not fully disclose its scoring methodology, it explains that 684 universities from over 40 countries were evaluated and ranked based on the following categories:
- Academic reputation
- Employer reputation
- Citations per academic paper
- Faculty-to-student ratio
- International faculty and student ratio, and student diversity
- International research network
- Outbound exchange students
- Employment outcomes
- Sustainability

Each institution received a score out of 100 in each category, with a weighted average generating the overall score. Unlike the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings, QS’s report focuses solely on the quality of teaching rather than the overall student experience.

ETH Zurich secured the top spot, with Imperial College London and the University of Oxford completing the top three. Overall, UK universities occupied all but three of the top 10 spots.

TU Munich and Heidelberg Among the Top 20 in Europe

TU Munich has been steadily rising or maintaining its position in the QS World University Rankings since 2018. In the 2025 European ranking, the university scored an overall 92.1 but only 54 in the category of graduate employability.

Germany’s oldest university, Heidelberg, tied with the University of Birmingham for the 18th spot, earning an overall score of 87. The ranking highlighted Heidelberg as “one of Europe’s most research-intensive institutions” and commended its “leading role in the scientific community.”

Growing International Doubt About the Value of University Rankings

While university rankings were initially celebrated, there is increasing scepticism about their value, methodologies, and how they commercialize university data. 

In September 2023, the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands announced its withdrawal from the THE ranking, citing questionable data and methods. The University of Zurich followed suit in March 2024.

Since the first global university rankings were published in 2003, the number of ranking publishers has surged. The most influential rankings are run by four companies that collect and privatize large amounts of data from universities and public sources, which they then market as performance analytics.

Recent research suggests that universities purchasing products and services from QS and THE may improve their rankings, according to the United Nations University (UNU). Consequently, prospective students and readers are advised to approach rankings with caution. 

Jelena Brankovic, a researcher at the University of Bielefeld, advises students not to rely solely on rankings but to compare information from various sources, discuss with peers and parents, and align this with their own preferences.

Top 10 Universities in Europe According to QS

For now, here are the top 10 universities in Europe according to QS:

1. ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2. Imperial College London, United Kingdom
3. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
4. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
5. University College London, United Kingdom
6. University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
7. University of Manchester, United Kingdom
8. King’s College London, United Kingdom
9. Université PSL, France
10. L'École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

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