Rankings

The University of Stuttgart is a university with a high level of external funding and outstanding achievements in research, teaching and transfer. This is reflected by numerous national and international rankings.

The University of Stuttgart's impressive research record has been recognized by the U-Multirank, and the QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities. Students have also confirmed the excellent quality of Stuttgart`s teaching in the CHE ranking. In addition to the number of publications, citations and prizes, the external funding acquired is also considered as a meaningful indicator when assessing research performance. According to the THE ranking, the DFG funding atlas, and the EU framework program HORIZON, the University of Stuttgart scores well in terms of both public and private external funding.

The University of Stuttgart has been awarded first place in the sustainability ranking (THE Impact Ranking) in the indicators industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9).

The University of Stuttgart is among the top 21% of universities worldwide, as listed in the QS World University Ranking 2025 (ranked 314 from a total of 1,503 universities). The University of Stuttgart received the best rating for the indicator "Citations per Faculty" (rank 228 internationally and rank 10 nationally) and is among the top 15 % in terms of citations per capita in an international comparison. In addition, the University of Stuttgart was able to improve in the indicators “Sustainability” (rank 239 internationally and rank 16 nationally) and “Employer Reputation” (rank 289 internationally and rank 14 nationally).

The subject-specific "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024" are also proof of the University of Stuttgart's excellent performance, particularly in technical and engineering fields. In the field of "Engineering and Technology", the University of Stuttgart has made it to place 175 in the international comparison and has, once again, been ranked among the top 200 worldwide. In a national comparison, the university was ranked 7th (out of 22).

In two individual disciplines, the University of Stuttgart is among the top 100 worldwide: While the University of Stuttgart is ranked 51-100 internationally in the discipline "Architecture / Built Environmental" (3rd out of 9 in the national comparison), "Engineering - Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing" has been ranked 48th from a total of 532 worldwide (ranked 5th from 17 in the national comparison). Mechanical Engineering in Stuttgart is among the top 9% of subjects worldwide, published as part of the QS Subject Ranking. Furthermore, "Engineering - Civil and Structural Engineering" (101-150), "Engineering - Electrical and Electronics" (151-200), "Material Sciences" (151-200), "Mathematics" (151-200) and "Physics" (151-200) at the University of Stuttgart are all ranked among the top 200.

The University of Stuttgart is among the top 15% of universities worldwide listed in THE WUR 2024 (rank group 251-300). The University of Stuttgart received the best rating for the category „Industry“ (54th place from 1.904 universities, or 12th place from a total of 49 German universities), placing it in the top 3% internationally in the external industrial funding category.

In the subject-specific “THE World University Rankings by subject 2024”, the University of Stuttgart was ranked in the top 125 worldwide (out of 1,375) in engineering and computer science. In particular, the success of the engineering department can be attributed to the indicators “Research Environment”, “Teaching” and “Industry”, which were all rated extremely highly. In these categories, the Stuttgart engineering sciences are among the Top 4% (Industry) and Top 7% (Research Environment, Teaching) worldwide.

The University of Stuttgart has achieved the highest possible score in the sustainability ranking of the British "Times Higher Education" magazine and is ranked first worldwide in the indicator "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure" (SDG 9).

A decisive factor in achieving this excellent result was the University of Stuttgart's outstanding performance in the number of publications in fields that are important for sustainable industry, innovations, and infrastructure. Furthermore, the university's research cited in patents, the number of spin-offs established, and the amount of external industry funding also contributed to the excellent ranking.

In the CHE University Ranking 2024, the University of Stuttgart achieved a total of 45 top rankings for the subjects of chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, geosciences, sport and movement sciences and social sciences.

According to the ranking, the university is in the top group for the subjects chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, geosciences and social sciences in the criterion "Support for new students" with 11 or more points out of a possible 16. Computer Science achieved the top score in 13 out of 14 criteria assessed by students. In eight of the 14 criteria evaluated by students, the ratings are even above the national average. Chemistry achieved the top score in 5 out of 7 criteria assessed by students, and in 5 of the criteria assessed by students the scores were also equal to or above the national average. Physics achieved excellent scores in 10 out of 14 criteria assessed by students. Sports Science received a top rating for "degrees completed within a reasonable timeframe" for both Bachelor's and Master's study programs.

According to the U-Multirank 2022, with a total of twelve top rankings (group A), the University of Stuttgart is one of the "Top Performing Universities in Germany". In the indicators research and transfer of knowledge, the University of Stuttgart is among the German universities with the most top rankings (Groups A and B).

Data collection is suspended for 2023, as a common EU strategy for rankings and the pooling of different data sources is now being decided.

In the international Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023, the University of Stuttgart ranks 20-24 in the national comparison (ranking 301-400 worldwide) and has reached 5th place in the comparison of TU9 universities in Germany.

The subject-specific "Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022" attests to the University of Stuttgart's excellent performance in technical and engineering subjects. The departments of "Mechanical Engineering" and "Civil Engineering" at the University of Stuttgart, are ranked 51-75, and are among the top 20% and 25% worldwide, respectively, in an international comparison. They have also been ranked 1st in a national comparison.

In terms of total DFG approvals 2017-2019, the University of Stuttgart is among the top 20 German universities, ranking 19th with a DFG funding total of €157.3 million. The university ranks 11th in terms of the number of professors working at the university,  (EUR 180.1 thousand per professor) in the national comparison.

The German Research Foundation's funding Atlas is published every three years and ranks all German universities based on the funding they receive from the DFG. According to the Funding Atlas 2021, engineering sciences at the University of Stuttgart rank second nationally with EUR 100.5 million. In the engineering sciences, the University of Stuttgart leads in the fields of civil engineering and architecture (EUR 13.3 million) and ranks 2nd in the field of computer science, systems and electrical engineering (EUR 39.4 million).

In Horizon 2020, the University of Stuttgart was able to raise EUR 96 million for 179 projects, putting it in 11th place out of a total of 4,000 institutions in Germany for both criteria.

In the 9th Framework Program Horizon Europe, more than 45 projects with a volume of more than EUR 27 million have already been acquired. Many innovations from these projects have since found their way into industrial applications. Therefore, the European Commission has named the University of Stuttgart as a "Key Innovator" for its contribution to innovative developments. This is also represented on the "Innovation Radar" platform with more than 35 highlight innovations (as of March 2023).

Rankings in discourse

The University of Stuttgart is recognized internationally as a leading technical university. This status has been confirmed by various rankings, including commercial ones. However, rankings are also subject to significant criticism in terms of their methodology, transparency, and comparability, because they cannot do justice to all facets of a university or the diverse international academic systems and only illuminate certain components. The University of Stuttgart is aware of this criticism, but it nevertheless actively participates in rankings in order to improve the visibility of the University of Stuttgart and to encourage international comparison.

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Margarete Altmann

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Rankings

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