Field · Social Sciences · Germany
Social Sciences research in Germany
University of Tübingen ranks first in Germany for Social Sciences research in 2022–2025 (#23 worldwide), followed by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and University of Cologne.
- Germany's world rank
- #6 of 151 countries, 2022–2025
- Works, 2022–2025
- 85k
- Top-10% rate
- 20.3%
- Ranked institutions
- 60
Research strength only: this says nothing about teaching, admissions or cost.
What is the best university for Social Sciences in Germany?
| # | Institution | World rank | Score | Top-10% rate | Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of TübingenTübingen | #23 | 64.2 | 25.9% | 1,206 |
| 2 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenMunich | #89 | 48.8 | 23.8% | 1,712 |
| 3 | University of CologneCologne | #115 | 45.8 | 21.5% | 1,369 |
| 4 | Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin | #119 | 45.4 | 26.4% | 1,431 |
| 5 | Universität HamburgHamburg | #131 | 44.3 | 23.3% | 1,809 |
| 6 | Freie Universität BerlinBerlin | #167 | 41.6 | 22.6% | 1,831 |
| 7 | University of MünsterMünster | #226 | 38.1 | 21.3% | 1,439 |
| 8 | Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main | #240 | 37.4 | 22.8% | 1,629 |
| 9 | University of BremenBremen | #257 | 36.6 | 26.3% | 1,046 |
| 10 | University of PotsdamPotsdam | #268 | 36.2 | 25.7% | 860 |
| 11 | Johannes Gutenberg University MainzMainz | #276 | 35.8 | 27.4% | 885 |
| 12 | Technical University of MunichMunich | #339 | 33.5 | 32.1% | 730 |
| 13 | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielKiel | #355 | 33.0 | 19.4% | 630 |
| 14 | University of FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau | #367 | 32.6 | 21.1% | 822 |
| 15 | Ruhr University BochumBochum | #368 | 32.5 | 21.1% | 1,015 |
| 16 | University of BonnBonn | #369 | 32.5 | 19.5% | 996 |
| 17 | Leipzig UniversityLeipzig | #371 | 32.5 | 22.8% | 978 |
| 18 | Friedrich Schiller University JenaJena | #392 | 31.8 | 24.8% | 619 |
| 19 | University of BambergBamberg | #448 | 30.3 | 23.8% | 664 |
| 20 | University of Duisburg-EssenEssen | #461 | 30.0 | 26.8% | 1,062 |
| 21 | TU Dortmund UniversityDortmund | #465 | 29.9 | 25.7% | 885 |
| 22 | University of GöttingenGöttingen | #489 | 29.3 | 20.5% | 734 |
| 23 | University of MannheimMannheim | #491 | 29.2 | 34.5% | 511 |
| 24 | Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld | #496 | 29.1 | 21.0% | 1,231 |
| 25 | Heidelberg UniversityHeidelberg | #497 | 29.1 | 20.3% | 1,166 |
| 26 | University of KonstanzKonstanz | #540 | 28.2 | 31.7% | 578 |
| 27 | Philipps University of MarburgMarburg | #586 | 27.2 | 19.2% | 741 |
| 28 | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergErlangen | #593 | 27.1 | 20.5% | 898 |
| 29 | Technische Universität DresdenDresden | #629 | 26.4 | 21.3% | 787 |
| 30 | Saarland UniversitySaarbrücken | #630 | 26.4 | 29.4% | 357 |
| 31 | Technische Universität BerlinBerlin | #643 | 26.2 | 27.1% | 593 |
| 32 | University of KasselKassel | #663 | 25.8 | 16.7% | 873 |
| 33 | WZB Berlin Social Science CenterBerlin | #677 | 25.6 | 40.3% | 308 |
| 34 | DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in EducationFrankfurt am Main | #703 | 25.1 | 60.3% | 436 |
| 35 | Technische Universität DarmstadtDarmstadt | #715 | 25.0 | 27.3% | 485 |
| 36 | Osnabrück UniversityOsnabrück | #727 | 24.8 | 25.6% | 517 |
| 37 | Leuphana University of LüneburgLüneburg | #757 | 24.3 | 27.5% | 418 |
| 38 | University of HildesheimHildesheim | #793 | 23.8 | 16.7% | 338 |
| 39 | Paderborn UniversityPaderborn | #809 | 23.5 | 20.2% | 485 |
| 40 | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzig | #810 | 23.5 | 54.7% | 91 |
| 41 | Leibniz University HannoverHanover | #834 | 23.2 | 22.4% | 651 |
| 42 | University of BayreuthBayreuth | #868 | 22.8 | 20.9% | 554 |
| 43 | University of WuppertalWuppertal | #869 | 22.7 | 19.2% | 558 |
| 44 | Max Planck SocietyMunich | #880 | 22.6 | 4.9% | 1,795 |
| 45 | University of ErfurtErfurt | #940 | 21.8 | 21.3% | 515 |
| 46 | Hertie SchoolBerlin | #948 | 21.7 | 42.6% | 206 |
| 47 | Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyKarlsruhe | #990 | 21.2 | 27.8% | 372 |
| 48 | RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen | #999 | 21.1 | 19.3% | 619 |
| 49 | Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergHalle | #1,024 | 20.9 | 17.5% | 619 |
| 50 | University of AugsburgAugsburg | #1,025 | 20.9 | 17.3% | 496 |
| 51 | University of WürzburgWürzburg | #1,029 | 20.8 | 23.4% | 493 |
| 52 | Zeppelin Universität gemeinnützige GmbHFriedrichshafen | #1,048 | 20.6 | 26.3% | 148 |
| 53 | Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg | #1,105 | 20.0 | 20.6% | 473 |
| 54 | Universität TrierTrier | #1,194 | 19.1 | 20.9% | 402 |
| 55 | LMU KlinikumMunich | #1,268 | 18.4 | 40.8% | 192 |
| 56 | Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenGiessen | #1,276 | 18.4 | 18.7% | 587 |
| 57 | Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorf | #1,297 | 18.2 | 18.2% | 600 |
| 58 | Catholic University of Eichstätt-IngolstadtEichstätt | #1,330 | 17.9 | 19.0% | 348 |
| 59 | University of PassauPassau | #1,342 | 17.8 | 19.1% | 448 |
| 60 | Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics EducationKiel | #1,442 | 17.0 | 58.0% | 97 |
Institutions in Germany above the floor of 40 fractional works in Social Sciences, ordered by their worldwide rank on research quality, 2022–2025.
Who are the top Social Sciences researchers in Germany?
Niklas Luhmann, Ulrich Beck and Fritz W. Scharpf rank highest among researchers based in Germany.
- 1Niklas Luhmann#53 worldwide overall2.3k citations · 177 works
- 2Ulrich Beck#556 worldwide overall2.7k citations · 83 works
- 3Fritz W. Scharpf#718 worldwide overall1.3k citations · 104 works
- 4Uwe Schimank#2,694 worldwide overall604 citations · 93 works
- 5Wolfgang Streeck#3,133 worldwide overall838 citations · 131 works
- 6Jürgen Baumert#4,606 worldwide overall1k citations · 136 works
- 7Ruud Koopmans#7,965 worldwide overall597 citations · 77 works
- 8Ludger Woessmann#11,249 worldwide overall1.1k citations · 77 works
- 9Tanja A. Börzel#12,620 worldwide overall486 citations · 78 works
- 10Reinhard Zimmermann#15,316 worldwide overall246 citations · 143 works
- 11Wolfgang Merkel#15,909 worldwide overall377 citations · 109 works
- 12Stefan Berger#18,817 worldwide overall344 citations · 84 works
- 13Heinz‐Elmar Tenorth#28,126 worldwide overall175 citations · 112 works
- 14Ulrich Teichler#34,808 worldwide overall394 citations · 122 works
- 15Jo Reichertz#50,018 worldwide overall217 citations · 86 works
How Germany compares with other countries in Social Sciences