Ruhr-Universität Bochum increases in global ranking!

Ruhr-Universität Bochum increases in global ranking!

On October 9, 2025, the new Times Higher Education (THE) university rankings were published. The Ruhr University of Bochum (RUB) reached the ranking group 251-300 this year, thus moving up one place compared to the previous year. In a competition in which over 3,000 universities take part, RUB is among the top ten percent of universities worldwide. This award demonstrates their continued commitment to academic excellence and research capacity.

The THE World University Ranking evaluates institutions in various categories, including research quality, teaching, internationality and industry & transfer. Almost 60 percent of the overall rating is attributed to the research performance of the universities. Important indicators include the number of scientific publications per employee and the perception of research, which is measured by citations. The RUB was particularly impressive in the industry category, where it ranks among the best 100 universities worldwide. It has also established itself among the top 200 universities in the research environment category. These aspects illustrate the university's focus on practical and research-intensive teaching.

International rankings and comparison

In the EduRank rating, the Ruhr University Bochum ranks 22nd in Germany and 271st worldwide. The RUB performed at the top in a total of 216 research areas. The ranking factors include 104,130 academic publications and over 2.6 million citations. This speaks to strong scholarly activity at the university, with the influence of 76 notable alumni also taken into account.

A detailed look at the Ruhr University's subject rankings shows notable placements in various disciplines. In the field of physics, the university ranks 9th in Germany and 174th worldwide, while in chemistry it is ranked 21st in Germany and 240th worldwide. The RUB also has considerable success in biology (24th place in Germany, 296th worldwide) and in engineering sciences (12th place in Germany, 210th worldwide).

These rankings make it clear that the Ruhr University Bochum has a wide range of excellent research fields. Particularly noteworthy are research areas such as quantum and particle physics, organic chemistry and neuroscience, in which the RUB has achieved a significant number of publications and citations.

The Times Higher Education Rankings for 2026 currently include 2,191 institutions from 115 countries. Oxford maintains its top spot this year as the competitive landscape shows Asian universities becoming increasingly influential. With five universities in the top 40, China shows steady improvement in global education trends. India's presence in the rankings has also increased, highlighting the dynamic development in higher education. This represents the challenges that universities like RUB must face in order to remain competitive in the future.