- What is the AvH Foundation?
- Is the ranking trustworthy?
- Methodology
- Which universities are ranked?
- Criticism
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The Humboldt Ranking is a unique and prestigious ranking published by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH). It highlights the most popular German universities and research institutions among top international researchers awarded the exclusive Humboldt Fellowship.
If you’re a researcher or student looking for the best universities in Germany with strong international reputation and research collaboration, this guide provides everything you need to know about the Humboldt Ranking.
Overview/Summary
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Humboldt Ranking |
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Issued by |
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) |
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Frequency of publication |
In general every three years (2009; 2012; 2014; 2017; 2020) |
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Level of comparison |
Institutional; Field |
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Number of Institutions |
more than 110 Universities (Universitäten, Universities of Applied Sciences, Academies of Music and Fine Arts) plus more than 250 Research Centers |
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Focus on |
Reputation and popularity among international researchers |
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Ranking parameters |
number of Humboldtians (AvH fellows) hosted at the institution |
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Strengths |
In addition to the Universities (Universitäten) it also lists Research Institutes, Universities of Applied Sciences, Academies of Music and Fine Art |
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Website |
This is part of our "Germany in University Rankings" articles' series
LinkWhat is the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation?
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) is Germany’s leading institution for international academic exchange. It is often seen as the elite counterpart of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) but is far more exclusive.
Both the AvH and the DAAD:
- represent the German higher education landscape;
- are mainly funded by the national government (in particular the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research);
- are based in Germany's former capital (Bonn);
- support the academic exchange of Germans and foreigners through fellowships (AvH) and scholarships (DAAD).
While the DAAD (1,100 employees) is more of a mass institution with more than 100,000 scholars per year (peak: 145,000 in 2019), to which you can apply on your own, the Humboldt Foundation is much more exclusive - and high-class. With a budget of €145 million (DAAD: €549 million, both figures for 2019), it finances only 800 fellows and awards each year, which have to be nominated by professors or even university rectors. And these prizes are really top-class:
Alexander von Humboldt Professorship
+Sofja Kovalevskaja Award
+Humboldt Research Award
+Humboldt-Research Fellowships
+German Chancellor Fellowship
+In short, the Humboldt Fellowships are among the most prestigious awards in the world, and it's an honour for any researcher to become a member of this elite club. That is why the motto "Once a Humboldtian, always a Humboldtian" still applies today among the 30,000 Humboldt Alumni worldwide. And with good reason: Humboldtians include 55 Nobel Laureates - if the Humboldt Foundation were a country, it would rank fifth in the list of Nobel Laureates by country, after the USA (398), Great Britain (137), Germany (111) and France (70) [figures for 2021].
Visiting researchers come from all over the world, but the majority are from the USA (1017), followed by China (630), India (385), the UK (336) and Italy (253).
Is the Humboldt Ranking trustworthy?
Yes, because it is based on a very clear metric that is easy to understand: The Humboldt Ranking lists the universities and research centres in Germany where international academics have spent their research stays as Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellows. The ranking is based on the number of visiting fellows at each institution over the past five years.
The Humboldt Rankings show how very attractive Germany is as a location for conducting research and reflect German science’s many good international connections. The rankings also indicate which universities and research institutions are particularly popular among the Humboldt Foundation’s international guest researchers. In addition to large universities in major cities, Germany also has a wealth of attractive, smaller institutions with an international profile.
(Source)
In a nutshell, this ranking is very popular in Germany because
A
A leading position in the Humboldt ranking is an important indicator of the global reputation of an institution in Germany.
B
The ranking also shows the fields in which German research is so good that it wins the international competition for the best brains.
C
To avoid statistical distortions due to differences in the size of host institutions, the Humboldt Ranking is based on a weighted count of the number of visiting academics per university.
D
Recognising that each institution has specific strengths and weaknesses in different subject areas, the rankings also distinguish between the four main scientific fields: humanities and social sciences, life sciences, physical sciences and engineering.
About the Methodology
The methodology of the ranking is quite simple compared to other international rankings - it counts the number of international Humboldtians (Alexander von Humboldt fellows) that a university or research institution has won (hosted) in the last 4 years (however, to make it fairer and to allow for a proper comparative analysis, several conditions are taken into account):
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Humboldtianer are counted only once per host institution. Even if the person visited an institution several times as part of research;
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If a Humboldtianer stays at several host institutions during the scholarship, this is counted as one stay for each of the participating institutions;
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All stays of one month or more are taken into account;
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The ranking only includes research grants- and research awards-connected stays;
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Stays within the framework of programs such as the German Chancellor Scholarship Program, the International Climate Protection Scholarship Program, the Hezekiah Wardwell Scholarship or partnership and cooperation programs are NOT taken into account;
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In order to avoid statistical distortions due to the different sizes of the host institutions, the Humboldt ranking relates the guest stays to the number of professorships at the respective scientific university. The weighted results reflect the number of recipients per 100 professors. These figures are based on the information provided by the Federal Statistical Office on the number of W3/C4 (Universitätsprofessor/Professor) professorships at the individual universities.
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In the case of university institutions, only those institutions are considered in the weighting that have at least five W3/C4 professorships (Universitätsprofessor/Professor). Since the personal details of the Federal Statistical Office were blacked out at some universities in certain scientific areas for data protection reasons, they could not be taken into account in the weighting.
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Since each institution has its specific strengths and weaknesses in the various subject areas, the Humboldt Ranking also differentiates according to the four major scientific fields: the humanities and social sciences, the life sciences, the natural sciences and engineering.
Which German universities are ranked?
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation includes all universities and research institutions in Germany that have hosted a Humboldtian (AvH fellow) in the last five years (for the 2020 ranking, the years 2015-2019 were taken into account). As Humboldtians are free to choose where to spend their research period, the ranking can theoretically include any German university (regardless of the type of university) or public research institute (e.g. one of the four major German research organisations): Max Planck, Fraunhofer, Leibniz, Helmholtz).
However, as the number of Humboldt fellows is rather small, only a limited number of universities make it into the ranking. As a rule of thumb, about one third of German universities are included in the ranking.
The ranking list consists of two lists (which still reflect the 'old' distinction between universities and other universities or research institutions):
1
Overall ranking of Universities (including rankings according to scientific areas)
2
Research Institutes, Universities of Applied Sciences, Academies of Music and Fine Art, plus a few small Universities (with less than five W3/C4 professorships)
Universities and the rest
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Criticism
As can be seen from the previous sections, the ranking is very simple and specific. However, this simplicity is open to criticism:
A
Quantity equals quality? It is true that both international visibility and reputation can be read to some extent from this ranking. However, it is not possible to draw comprehensive conclusions on the basis of just one parameter.
B
Subjective selection: Due to the limited selection of individuals (not all international researchers, but only those who have been awarded a fellowship/grant), the ranking appears to be more subjective.
C
City ranking? As the leading institutions are located in Berlin and Munich, it is possible that researchers do not only consider the attractiveness of the host institution but also of the city when choosing their destination.
Advice Box
If you’re a researcher or prospective PhD student looking for the best universities in Germany, the Humboldt Ranking provides a clear indicator of where top scholars choose to conduct research.
🔹 Use the Humboldt Ranking to find institutions with strong international research networks
🔹 Consider it alongside other rankings like QS, THE, and Shanghai for a well-rounded view
🔹 Remember: Rankings aren’t everything—choose the university that fits YOUR research goals
🚀 Explore More University Rankings:
🎓 QS World University Rankings: German Universities
