Rank 46 out of 20,531: According to the World University Ranking, LMU ranks among the top 0.3 percent of the world’s best universities. Within the EU, it ranks 8th. In Germany, it is the best university, followed by the Free University of Berlin and Humboldt University of Berlin. TUM, in turn, ranks 78th in the global ranking and thus among the top 0.4 percent. Across the EU, it ranks 14th; in Germany, TUM ranks 5th.
The global list is led by Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Stanford University. The top 3 in the EU are Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL), Paris-Saclay University, and Copenhagen University.
Differences between rankings
What stands out about the World University Ranking is that the Technical University ranks roughly 30 places behind Ludwig Maximilian University. In other rankings, however, TU ranks ahead and the gap between the two is smaller. In the QS World University Ranking, TUM ranks 49th, while LMU ranks 59th. In the university ranking of the British magazine “Times Higher Education”, the Technical University ranks 30th globally, LMU 33rd. And in the Shanghai Ranking, the two universities are separated by just one rank, with TUM at 56th and LMU at 57th.
This difference can be attributed in part to the scope of the individual rankings. For example, the QS World University Ranking examines nearly 1,500 educational institutions, the “Times Higher Education” Ranking 1,800 universities, and the Shanghai Ranking around 2,500 universities. The World University Ranking, on the other hand, includes more than 20,500. Furthermore, looking at the total points achieved shows that LMU with 85 and TUM with 82.9 out of 100 possible points are closer together than a difference of 30 places might suggest.
Moreover, the World University Ranking focuses purely on outcome-oriented factors. These include, for example, the number of alumni and faculty members who have received academic awards, or the number of publications. The QS Ranking, for instance, includes additional factors in its evaluation. These include how universities prepare students for successful careers or the student-to-faculty ratio.
