QS World University Rankings 2026: University of Freiburg in the ten best universities nationally
Freiburg, 20/06/2025
In the QS World University Rankings 2026 the University of Freiburg moves up internationally to 201st place from 212th last year. Nationally it confirmed its place in the Top 10.
In the latest World University Rankings by the UK’s Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the University of Freiburg took 10th place nationally same as last year. Internationally it moved up to 201st place from over 1500 universities and thus improved on 2025 when it ranked 212th.
The University of Freiburg is listed in the top ten German universities according to several indicators. For its international research network it achieved 6th place nationally. In the field of sustainability, the University of Freiburg holds 7th place in German universities and shares 104th place internationally. For citations it is in 10th place nationally.
Methodology of the QS World University Rankings:
Universities are assessed using ten indicators for the QS World University Rankings. In research, the indicators are academic reputation (30 percent) and average citations (20 percent). To determine employment outcomes, the ranking looks at the reputation with employers (15 percent) and alumni employment after qualification (5 percent). To gauge the university’s international character, the rankings look at the international faculty ratio and the international student ratio (5 percent each), international student diversity (a new, unweighted indicator) and international research partnerships in the form of joint publications (5 percent). Information on publications is obtained from Elsevier’s Scopus database. The learning experience is assessed using the ratio of academic employees to students (10 percent) and the assessment in relation to sustainability is based on the QS Sustainability Rankings (5 percent).