Non-Commercial Initiatives
The Humboldt Rankings
Every five years the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation [1] ranks institutions of higher education and research institutes according to the number of sponsored foreign researchers they host.
The Foundation was established by the German government in 1953 to promote international research cooperation through the distribution of awards and fellowships. In the period 2001 to 2005 the Foundation sponsored 4,943 long-term research stays. The 2005 rankings are based on where those award-winners carried out their research.
Results (2005)
| Humanities, Law, and Social Sciences | ||
| Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | Berlin Free University | 113 |
| 2 | Humboldt University | 96 |
| 3 | University of Munich | 88 |
| Life Sciences (Bioscience, Medicine, and Agricultural Science) | ||
| Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | University of Munich | 42 |
| 2 | University of Freiburg | 32 |
| 3 | University of Tübingen | 29 |
| Natural Science | ||
| Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | Munich Technical University | 115 |
| 2 | University of Heidelberg | 83 |
| 3 | University of Munich | 82 |
| Engineering | ||
| Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | Darmstadt Technical University | 48 |
| 2 | RWTH Aachen University | 38 |
| 2 | University of Stuttgart | 38 |
| Absolute Figures | ||
| Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | University of Munich | 212 |
| 2 | Berlin Free University | 192 |
| 3 | Humboldt University | 185 |
| 4 | Munich Technical University | 170 |
| 5 | University of Heidelberg | 166 |
| Weighted Figures: Stays per 100 Professorships | |||
| Weighted Rank | Absolute Rank | Institution | Total Awards and Stays |
| 1 | 21 | University of Bayreuth | 78 |
| 2 | 5 | University of Heidelberg | 166 |
| 3 | 4 | Munich Technical University | 170 |
| 4 | 2 | Berlin Free University | 192 |
| 5 | 17 | Darmstadt Technical University | 85 |
Complete results are available from:
www.humboldt-foundation.de/de/aktuelles/presse/doc/2006ranking.pdf [2]
German Research Foundation
The 2003 ranking represents the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft’s [3] (DFG, German Research Foundation) third tri-annual report on the distribution of DFG financial resources to German research institutions of higher education, differentiated by research area. The DFG is Germany’s central, self-governing research funding organization.
The 2003 report incorporates for the first time information on the internationalization of research, based on information provided by the German Academic Exchange Service and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (see above).
Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) Research Rankings
The CHE Research Ranking [4] is designed to identify top research-active faculties based on three to four criteria (depending on the subject area): publication output, third-party research funding, number of doctorates, and the number of patent applications (engineering only). The ranking uses subject-specific criteria and methods for each discipline, based on consultation with representatives of the discipline in question.
Wissenschaft-Weltoffen – Internationalization on German Campuses
The Wissenschaft-Weltoffen report [5] provides data on the international nature of studies and research in Germany. Although the majority of the data is presented in book format, a lot of the data is presented on the report’s website. In addition, the results of a survey of scientists in projects funded by the DFG (see above) about the international orientation are included; these results were determined, edited and commented on by the DFG.
DAAD, Die Zeit and CHE
A new and interesting tripartite collaboration between the government, academia and the media has resulted in the creation of an entirely new ranking system [6] that allows the consumer to create his/her own weightings and rankings. The researchers responsible for the creation of this system believe that it provides more useful and meaningful results for the consumer than the pooling of disparate indicators commonly found in weight-and-add rankings.
Methodology
In partnership with the German Academic Exchange Service [7] (DAAD) and news weekly Die Zeit, the Center for Higher Education Development [8] (CHE) has produced a ranking that manages to avoid the traditional weight-and-add approach to ranking. Rather than combining individual indicator scores to produce an ordinal league table of institutions, CHE assesses individual departments from universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with each quality indicator standing independently. Departments are assessed as being in the ‘top third,’ middle third,’ and final third’ as compared to peer departments in that particular discipline and for each particular indicator. Departments are therefore clustered rather than ranked for each indicator and considered equal to their cluster peers.
The reasoning behind clustering is a belief that “league positions can be dangerous because minimal differences produced by random fluctuations may be misinterpreted as real differences. By contrast, the ranking group approach ensures that the top and bottom group differ to a statistically significant degree from the overall mean value.”
Students and parents researching prospective study destinations are then free to focus their search by choosing the subject area and quality indicators that are of importance to them, thereby creating their own tailor-made ranking. In providing the results online, combined with the necessary sorting tools, consumers can manipulate the results and tailor a ranking of departments unique to their particular needs. Consumers begin their search by choosing a subject, city or university, and can then chose to view all surveyed universities with a broad assessment in five key criteria, or tailor their search through the “My Ranking” function by choosing criteria that are particularly important to them, such as library facilities or computer equipment. The “My Ranking” function allows the consumer to select up to five personal criteria from more than 25 choices, to set the order in which these criteria apply, and to weight the criteria to help them find the most suitable university.
By partnering with Die Zeit and DAAD, CHE is able to promote its rankings to both a domestic and international audience. Die Zeit publishes the rankings annually in a special supplement and also maintains a dedicated website [9].
In production since 1998, this ranking innovation has received a fair degree of attention, and CHE et al have been contracted by ranking organizations in other countries to produce similar systems.
Indicators and Data Collection
Data is collected annually on departments in one or two fields, and each field is re-evaluated every three or four years. As of 2006, a total of 35 subject areas have been evaluated, covering 75 percent of students. Since 1998, 280 university faculties have been included in the ranking, with more than 210,000 students and around 21,000 professors taking part in the surveys from which a large part of the ranking data is taken.
Data is collected in nine broad areas: city/university, students, study outcome, internationalization, teaching, resources, research, labor market/employability, overall assessment (students/professors). Each assessment category has a number of indicators by which they are measured. For example:
- Research data is collected from three data sources: publications/citations, research grants, research reputation (professor survey).
- Teaching data is collected from: staff/student ratio, student assessment of contact between faculty and students, student assessment of course organization.
- Labor market data is collected from alumni surveys.
Overall assessment
Among the key criteria assessed are factors such as school reputation among professors: where would professors send their children to study? Overall student opinion: where are students most satisfied? Study results: where do students complete their studies the fastest?
Students completing the surveys are canvassed on:
- Studies and Teaching
- Student Structure
- Study Results: Length of Studies, Grade Point Average
- Computer, Lab Equipment, etc.
- Research Achievements and Performance
- International Focus
Detailed information on the CHE methodology can be found at www.che-ranking.de [10] (German language only).
Ten Elite Universities
The German government is making available millions of euro in additional university funding to help finance a group of so-called “elite universities”. To date, ten universities have been shortlisted for the project designed to improve Germany’s international standing. The 10 institutions will submit detailed proposals by October after which they will be narrowed down to five by a committee set up by the German Research Foundation and the German Science Council. The ten finalist universities are as follows:
- Aachen University of Technology [11]
- Free University of Berlin [12]
- University of Bremen [13]
- University of Freiburg [14]
- University of Heidelberg [15]
- Karlsruhe Technical University [16]
- Ludwig Maximilian University [17]
- Munich Technical University [18]
- University of Tübingen [19]
- University of Würzburg [20]
Additionally, 40 graduate schools and 30 clusters of excellence are expected to receive funding.
Commercial Rankings
Karriere University Rankings
Polling over 50,000 students and alumni, and 1,000 human resources managers at major companies, business and employment magazine Junge Karriere [21]publishes an annual ranking that sorts schools across three disciplines: law, business and media studies.
Methodology
The rankings are largely based on the results of two questionnaires, one that in 2005 went out to over 50,000 students and alumni of German universities, and one that was sent out to 1,000 human resources representatives at major German companies. A weighting of 40 percent is given to the results of each survey, while 20 percent is given to objective criteria.
Students and graduates are asked to give an overall impression of their school, in addition to finer details related to how their university has prepared them for the job market and the workplace. Students also rate schools on their facilities and infrastructure. Human resources representatives were asked to list their top five universities and universities of applied sciences according to their hiring practices.
In terms of objective criteria, universities were rated on average length of studies (the shorter the better), student-to-teacher ratio with extra marks given for full professors versus adjuncts, and the percentage of students studying or planning to study abroad.
Results
Business
- HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management
- WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
- European School of Management, Oestrich-Winkel
- University of Mannheim
- University of Witten/Herdecke
Law
- Bucerius Law School, Hamburg
- University of Passau
- University of Freiburg
- Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich
- University of Güttingen
Media Studies
- University of Leipzig
- HMT Hannover
- Business and Information Technology School, Iserlohn
- FH Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
- University of Augsburg
Karriere European MBA Ranking
Karriere also publishes an annual ranking of European business schools that have received accreditation from the U.S. accreditor AACSB and its European counterpart EFMD (equis). For its 2005 ranking, 34 business schools were assessed by means of a questionnaire that is sent to qualifying business schools operating full-time MBA programs. Schools are ranked according to three categories: performance (40%), value for money as measured by fees to performance (20%), and image (40%) as measured by responses to questionnaires. In the performance category, five indicators are employed: the international makeup of the student body, the international composition of the faculty, student “quality” as measured by their performance in the GMAT and their average length of work experience, as well as the student-to-faculty ratio. The ranking [22] is available for a fee from the karriere website.
Results
| Top 10 European Business Schools | |
| Rank | Institution |
| 1 | IMD International, Lausanne |
| 2 | Insead, Fountainbleau |
| 3 | RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam |
| 4 | University of St. Gallen |
| 5 | London Business School |
| 6 | Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge |
| 7 | Warwick Business School, Coventry (UK) |
| 8 | Esade, Barcelona |
| 9 | Vlerick, Ghent |
| 10 | Aston Business School, Birmingham |
Source: Junge Karriere
Der Spiegel, “Where Do the Best Study? Elite Students at German Universities?”
The education supplement [23] of Der Spiegel, a news weekly, conducted a survey of more than 50,000 students from 15 fields between April and July 2004. The internet-based survey was conducted in conjunction with Mckinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, and AOL, an internet service provider. Students were questioned about their careers, their experiences and their qualifications. In terms of the ranking results [24] only the answers from students close to graduation were counted.
Criteria for the ranking include average grades on school-leaving certificates, grades for university coursework and examinations, length of study, age, scholarships, award, and publications. Further criteria included computer and language skills, internships, international experience, mobility, and engagement outside of the university.
Wirtschaftswoche Ranking of Business Schools
A recent survey of human-resources executives revealed that graduates of the universities of Mannheim [25], Aachen [26], Karlsruhe [16] and Munich [17] are the most valued among German businesses.
Business journal Wirtschaftswoche surveyed 800 human-resources professionals at 600 different German firms, who combined had analyzed the profiles of approximately 120,000 recent graduates. Manheim ranked as the best business school, while the Technical University of Aachen was rated the top school for engineers.
Other Rankings
Stern University Ranking: www.stern.de/wirtschaft/arbeit-karriere/539568.html?nv=redir [27]