The University of Bonn has once again improved its standing according to the Shanghai Ranking, coming in fourth in Germany behind Munich’s two universities and Heidelberg. These four Universities of Excellence are the only German universities in the world’s top 100.
However, the gap between the four German universities in the top 100 is narrowing: the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Heidelberg have all dropped several places year on year, while the University of Bonn has moved up eight spots. The University is followed some distance behind by the University of Freiburg in the group ranked 101st–150th.
The University of Bonn is among the top five in Germany in four out of the six ranking indicators and has also improved its performance in two: Highly Cited Researchers and papers published in the prestigious journals “Nature” and “Science.” In the Alumni indicator, the University benefited from the fact that Prof. Maryna Viazovska, who obtained her doctorate here in 2013, was among this year’s winners of the Fields Medal—the highest academic award for mathematics.
The Shanghai Ranking, which has now been published every year since as long ago as 2003, places its focus on research. It uses six indicators, including academic publications and citations as well as high-profile awards such as Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, to assess the performance of 1,000 universities.
Further improvement to an already outstanding position
“The ranking shows yet again that the University of Bonn—a University of Excellence—is among the strongest universities in Europe and the whole world,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn. “We’re one of only four universities in Germany to make it into the top 100. What makes the analysis even more remarkable is the fact that, not only have we further consolidated our excellent position in the face of fierce international competition, we’ve actually improved it significantly once again. We’re delighted with this reaffirmation of our strategy for the future, which we’ll be continuing to implement and develop further together with all our members.”
The University of Bonn is the most successful German university in the Excellence contest, with no other university managing to secure six Clusters of Excellence and the status of a University of Excellence at the same time.
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