Your guide to the Humboldt University of Berlin’s ranking

About the Humboldt University of Berlin 

The Humboldt University of Berlin (German- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university located in Berlin’s Mitte district. Frederick William III established the University of Berlin (Universität zu Berlin) in 1809 on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher, and it opened for students in 1810, making it the oldest of Berlin’s four universities. From 1828 to 1945, its original name is Friedrich Wilhelm University (German: Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität). During the Cold War, the university was in East Berlin and it saw division when the Free University of Berlin became a part of West Berlin. This blog further discusses the Humboldt University of Berlin’s rankings.

The Humboldt University of Berlin | A brief overview

Started in 1810, The Humboldt University of Berlin is one of the most prestigious universities not only in Germany but also in Europe. It has an international reputation in the arts and humanities.

Originally known as the University of Berlin, it received its current name in 1949 and gets its name from its founder, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and his brother, the renowned naturalist, and alumnus of the institution, Alexander von Humboldt.

HU Berlin is regarded as one of Europe’s forerunners in higher education. Wilhelm von Humboldt is credited with developing a university model that emphasized a closer relationship between research and teaching– a model that is still used in higher education institutions around the world today.

The institution has educated no fewer than 29 Nobel laureates, including Max Born, who won the prize for physics in 1954; Theodor Mommsen, who won the prize for literature in 1902; and Wassily Leontief, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize for economics in 1973, demonstrates its academic clout.

The German Universities Excellence Initiative, launched by the federal government in 2006, began allocating additional funding to institutions that demonstrated they were leaders in science and research. HU Berlin was one of 11 institutions to receive this funding in 2012, enhancing its reputation as one of the country’s top universities.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, as well as novelist Alfred Döblin and theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, were all graduates of HU Berlin. Composer Felix Mendelssohn was also a student there, and Albert Einstein taught there for a while.

Rankings

US News and World Report

• Best Global Universities- 61
• Best Global Universities in Europe- 18
• Best Global Universities in Germany- 3

National rankings

Humboldt Ranking- 3

The Humboldt Ranking is published by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany through their prestigious fellowship program (the Humboldt Research Fellowship). Their ranking shows which universities international researchers holding one of these Fellowships chose for a research stay in Germany. Thus, it lists German institutions only and is an indicator of high international reputation, popularity, and well-established international networks. 

DFG-Ranking- 9

The DFG Ranking is Germany’s national ranking based on research performance. It indicates which universities in Germany were most successful in allocating third-party funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). With an annual budget of around 3.4 Billion € (2018), the DFG is Germany’s central research funding organization. The ranking is considered an indicator of the quality of research at a higher education institution. The rankings get published annually by the DFG.

2019- ‘University of Excellence’

In 2019, 15 German universities received the title of ‘University of Excellence’ (valid until 2026). Their selection was a part of the so-called ‘Excellence Strategy’ of the Federal Government and the German states (Länder) which promote cutting-edge university research. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has won this title for the second time (after 2012).

Humboldt University of Berlin subject rankings

Agricultural Sciences (tie)-212

Arts and Humanities-51

Biology and Biochemistry (tie)-69

Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology (tie)-106

Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems (tie)-9

Cell Biology (tie)-45

Chemistry (tie)-227

Clinical Medicine-66

Computer Science-23

Condensed Matter Physics (tie)-199

Economics and Business-214

Endocrinology and Metabolism (tie)-59

Engineering-572

Environment/Ecology-83

Gastroenterology and Hepatology-126

Geosciences (tie)-101

Immunology-27

Infectious Diseases (tie)-37

Materials Science-211

Mathematics (tie)-121

Microbiology-64

Molecular Biology and Genetics (tie)-32

Neuroscience and Behavior-30

Oncology-74

Optics-162

Pharmacology and Toxicology-110

Physical Chemistry-322

Physics (tie)-112

Plant and Animal Science (tie)-111

Psychiatry/Psychology (tie)-53

Public, Environmental and Occupational Health (tie)-159

Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging-50

Social Sciences and Public Health (tie)-112

Surgery-61

2022-2023 Indicator Rankings

• Global score- 74
• Global research reputation- 85
• Regional research reputation- 22
• Publications- 82
• Books- 98
• Conferences- 526
• Normalized citation impact- 98
• Total citations- 60
• Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited- 72
• Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited- 170
• International collaboration – relative to country- 685
• International collaboration- 439
• Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited- 60
• Percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited- 121

QS rankings

• QS World University Rankings- 131
• QS WUR Ranking by Subject- 19
• Graduate Employability Ranking- 201-250

CWUR rankings

2022 rankings

• World Rank- 60
• National Rank- 3
• Quality of Education Rank- 82
• Quality of Faculty Rank- 49
• Research performance Rank- 72
• Overall Score- 83.9

Times Higher Education 

2023 rankings

• World University Rankings- 86
• World Reputation Rankings- 71-80
• Arts and Humanities- 24
• Life Sciences- 57
• Physical Sciences- 71
• Social Sciences- 46
• Computer Science- 251-300
• Law-32
• Education- 70 

Key takeaways

• The Humboldt University of Berlin is a German public research university located in Berlin’s Mitte district. It opened for students in 1810, making it the oldest of Berlin’s four universities. 
• HU Berlin is one of Europe’s forerunners in higher education. Wilhelm von Humboldt, its founder, gets the credit for developing a university model that emphasizes a closer relationship between research and teaching.
• The Humboldt University of Berlin received the title of ‘University of Excellence’. It also ranks high in various rankings, such as CWUR, QS Top Universities, Times Higher Education, and US News World Report.

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FAQs

Q1. Does HU Berlin teach in English?

Ans- In addition to regular university courses, HU Berlin offers courses on Berlin and Germany’s history, culture, and society. HU teaches the majority of these classes in English.

Q2. What is the average SAT score for HU Berlin?

Ans- Students must have an SAT score between 970 and 1200 to be admitted to Humboldt.

Q3. What is the average GPA for Humboldt State University?

Ans- Students must have a GPA of 3.27 or higher to be admitted to Humboldt.