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Subfield · Sociology and Political Science · Germany

Sociology and Political Science research in Germany

Universität Hamburg ranks first in Germany for Sociology and Political Science research in 2022–2025 (#66 worldwide), followed by Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Germany's world rank
#4
of 122 countries, 2022–2025
Works, 2022–2025
35k
Top-10% rate
19.3%
Ranked institutions
60

Research strength only: this says nothing about teaching, admissions or cost.

What is the best university for Sociology and Political Science in Germany?

#InstitutionWorld rankScoreTop-10% rateWorks
1Universität HamburgHamburg #6646.721.8%745
2Freie Universität BerlinBerlin #8343.719.3%726
3Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlin #10141.225.8%576
4Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenMunich #10840.419.9%671
5Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main #14936.320.2%719
6University of BremenBremen #16734.825.0%436
7Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld #16834.821.2%578
8Leipzig UniversityLeipzig #17234.522.9%406
9University of TübingenTübingen #19632.821.7%448
10Johannes Gutenberg University MainzMainz #19732.728.4%328
11University of CologneCologne #20332.420.5%499
12University of MünsterMünster #20632.219.5%564
13University of PotsdamPotsdam #21531.624.5%325
14Ruhr University BochumBochum #21931.420.4%455
15University of Duisburg-EssenEssen #23730.424.0%454
16University of FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau #25029.718.7%332
17DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in EducationFrankfurt am Main #26229.161.2%217
18Technische Universität BerlinBerlin #26728.926.6%267
19Technical University of MunichMunich #27128.728.7%216
20Osnabrück UniversityOsnabrück #32426.426.0%244
21Friedrich Schiller University JenaJena #33925.824.1%286
22University of BonnBonn #35225.418.4%367
23TU Dortmund UniversityDortmund #37324.621.3%356
24Heidelberg UniversityHeidelberg #37624.518.1%469
25Technische Universität DresdenDresden #38224.320.9%308
26Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergErlangen #38924.118.8%364
27University of MannheimMannheim #41923.132.6%194
28Philipps University of MarburgMarburg #43422.720.7%327
29University of KasselKassel #43522.613.5%398
30WZB Berlin Social Science CenterBerlin #44922.241.4%129
31University of KonstanzKonstanz #45722.031.2%206
32Leibniz University HannoverHanover #47221.622.6%261
33University of GöttingenGöttingen #48821.221.4%286
34RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen #49721.021.6%251
35University of BambergBamberg #50220.820.0%280
36Technische Universität DarmstadtDarmstadt #51120.626.1%198
37University of BayreuthBayreuth #54119.921.6%208
38University of ErfurtErfurt #54619.818.7%233
39University of WuppertalWuppertal #58918.815.6%264
40Leuphana University of LüneburgLüneburg #61618.224.1%171
41Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyKarlsruhe #63117.930.2%145
42Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielKiel #63517.817.1%232
43Paderborn UniversityPaderborn #68716.816.6%198
44University of AugsburgAugsburg #69416.717.1%205
45Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenGiessen #70816.515.6%255
46German Sport University CologneCologne #71316.432.3%107
47Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergHalle #71716.314.4%292
48Universität TrierTrier #72016.221.1%165
49University of WürzburgWürzburg #72216.223.6%183
50GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social SciencesMannheim #72616.139.1%108
51Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg #74315.817.6%198
52Universität der Bundeswehr MünchenMunich #77915.224.4%125
53University of StuttgartStuttgart #79714.924.2%142
54University of SiegenSiegen #81914.617.6%236
55Technische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweig #83114.424.3%135
56Saarland UniversitySaarbrücken #83614.326.3%106
57FernUniversität in HagenHagen #83714.317.1%198
58Catholic University of Eichstätt-IngolstadtEichstätt #84614.216.6%139
59Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorf #86014.014.7%234
60Institute for Peace Research and Security PolicyHamburg #89713.42.4%890

Institutions in Germany above the floor of 40 fractional works in Sociology and Political Science, ordered by their worldwide rank on research quality, 2022–2025.

Who are the top Sociology and Political Science researchers in Germany?

Niklas Luhmann, Ulrich Beck and Ronald Hitzler rank highest among researchers based in Germany.

  1. 1Niklas Luhmann#53 worldwide overall2.3k citations · 88 works
  2. 2Ulrich Beck#556 worldwide overall2.7k citations · 48 works
  3. 3Ronald Hitzler#2,407 worldwide overall792 citations · 36 works
  4. 4Uwe Schimank#2,694 worldwide overall604 citations · 67 works
  5. 5Wolfgang Streeck#3,133 worldwide overall838 citations · 55 works
  6. 6Jürgen Baumert#4,606 worldwide overall1k citations · 45 works
  7. 7Ruud Koopmans#7,965 worldwide overall597 citations · 38 works
  8. 8Karl Ulrich Mayer#12,634 worldwide overall417 citations · 37 works
  9. 9Heinz‐Elmar Tenorth#28,126 worldwide overall175 citations · 45 works
  10. 10Hans‐Peter Müller#44,388 worldwide overall116 citations · 42 works
  11. 11Jo Reichertz#50,018 worldwide overall217 citations · 53 works
  12. 12Jürgen Kocka#54,182 worldwide overall224 citations · 53 works
  13. 13Christian Fuchs#68,699 worldwide overall704 citations · 39 works
  14. 14Karl‐Dieter Opp#76,058 worldwide overall204 citations · 41 works
  15. 15Ortwin Renn#78,588 worldwide overall678 citations · 63 works

How Germany compares with other countries in Sociology and Political Science