The QS World University Rankings by Subject have just been released for 2020, and this year four German universities make it to the top 10 - but only in a few, specific subjects.

Four German universities in the top 10

This subject-specific ranking analysed 48 disciplines from over 1.368 universities around the world, and four German universities made it into the top 10: The University of Heidelberg (4), the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (5), and the Humboldt University of Berlin (7), who all ranked in the top 10 for the subject “Ancient History”. The university of Tübingen ranked seventh for “Theology”.

Some universities did make it into the top 50 worldwide for technical and scientific subjects - traditionally those more valued by employers - but they didn't make the top 10. Frontrunners like the University of Cambridge and Harvard University were able to place within the top 10 for 38 and 35 different subjects, respectively, whereas the top German university, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, only placed for 16 subjects. 

Top ranking German universities

Below is a list of the top German universities with the most subjects among the top 50 worldwide:

• 1. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (16 subjects)
• 2. Humboldt University of Berlin (14 subjects)
• 3. Free University Berlin (12 subjects)
• 4. Technical University of Munich (11 subjects)
• 5. Heidelberg University (9 subjects)
• 6. RWTH Aachen (6 subjects)
• 7. Tübingen University (4 subjects)
• 8. Göttingen University (3 subjects)
• 8. Technical University Berlin (3 subjects)
• 8. Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (3 subjects)

What is striking is that nine out of these 10 best German universities are part of the so-called Excellence Initiative, and are therefore supported by federal and state governments with additional funds. 95 German courses made it into the top 50, and 74 out of these were Excellence Universities.

Are German universities falling behind?

The ranking seems to suggest that German universities are falling behind on an international level. However, it is worth considering what is being measured by the ranking. QS places special emphasis on a university's research output, measured by the number of times an individual researcher is published in specialist journals.

However, in Germany, most basic research now takes place outside universities, for example in Max Planck Institutes. Although there are corporations affiliated with universities, it is difficult to assign the output.

Moreover, German universities are economically very different from their international competitors. Most do not charge tuition fees, even to international students. Furthermore they do not own foundation assets like top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge (which alone manages around 41 billion euros). Compared to this, the 500 million euros given by the Excellence Initiative, which have to be split 57 different ways, are a drop in the ocean. 

German universities focus on breadth, not depth

Every country has its own university policy, and in Germany, the focus is on developing a broad range of subjects rather than a few top subjects. Therefore, funds are distributed approximately equally among all universities and subjects, leading to plenty of good universities, but hardly any top ones. Some people argue that this is what leads to German dynamism.

However, others believe that change is needed. According to Ludger Wößman, head of the Centre for Education Economics at the Munich Ifo Institute, funds must be concentrated on individual projects, rather than spread out among a variety of subjects.

University political spokesperson Jens Brandenburg agrees: "We need mass sport, but the world championship can only be won with top performance.” He demands that the German standards be held to nothing less than the world’s best education and research, and advocates improving working conditions to attract international young researchers and increasing quality in teaching.

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020

You can find a list of the top universities in a variety of subjects and the complete ranking on the QS website.