This is a list of the ten oldest universities that have been in continuous operation since their founding in present-day Germany.
Some universities were established in the 14th or 15th centuries, but shut down for longer periods and later re-opened (e.g. the universities of Cologne, Erfurt, Ingolstadt, Mainz and Würzburg). These are not included in this list.
University | Year of establishment | Students | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Heidelberg University | 1386 | 31,500 | Heidelberg |
Leipzig University | 1409 | 29,500 | Leipzig |
University of Rostock | 1419 | 14,000 | Rostock |
University of Greifswald | 1456 | 12,000 | Greifswald |
University of Freiburg | 1457 | 20,500 | Freiburg |
University of Munich | 1472 | 44,000 | Munich[2] |
University of Tübingen | 1477 | 28,700 | Tübingen |
University of Halle-Wittenberg | 1502 | 18,500 | Halle[3] |
University of Marburg | 1527 | 24,000 | Marburg |
University of Jena | 1558 | 22,000 | Jena |
According to the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings:
NR = no ranking or ranking outside top 200.
Institution | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 (Times) | 2013 (QS) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) | NR | 172 | 149 | 146 | 137 | 94 | 66 | 151 | 128 | 109 |
Goethe University Frankfurt (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) | NR | 187 | 187 | NR | 169 | NR | 195 | 182 | 199 | NR |
Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) | 125 | 112 | 105 | 126 | 139 | 146 | 123 | 132 | 99 | 126 |
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 187 | 196 | 151 | 116 |
RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 154 | 147 |
Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 183 |
Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München) | 95 | 105 | 82 | 67 | 78 | 55 | 58 | 54 | 105 | 53 |
University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) | 99 | 55 | 98 | 65 | 93 | 98 | 66 | 62 | 48 | 67 |
University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) | 85 | 114 | 156 | 168 | 166 | 186 | 43 | 69 | 70 | 128 |
University of Heidelberg (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg) | 47 | 45 | 58 | 60 | 57 | 57 | 51 | 53 | 78 | 50 |
University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) | NR | NR | NR | 144 | 147 | 122 | 97 | 105 | 144 | 102 |
University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 200 | 154 | 171 | 163 |
University of Tuebingen (Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 134 |
University of Hamburg (Universität Hamburg) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 186 |
Topuniversities affiliated with ASE to choose the best university Is designed according to the needs of students.
The ASE Stars audit evaluates an institution against over 50 different indicators, and awards universities between one and five + stars over eight wider fields, as well as an overall rating.
ASE ( Accreditation Service for European Schools, Colleges & Universities )