Ranking QS Ranking by Subject: First Place in Life Sciences and Medicine

With the subject area Life Sciences & Medicine, Heidelberg University has again taken first place across Germany in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. Ranked 33rd internationally, it has improved worldwide by five places and comes out on top at the national level. Medicine at Heidelberg University is likewise ranked first in Germany in the single subjects, as it was last year; worldwide it is in 32nd position. Two other disciplines in the Life Sciences & Medicine subject area at Ruperto Carola also achieved top placings: Pharmacy and Pharmacology – assessed together – take 52nd place internationally and the Biological Sciences come 32nd, which in both cases means the top position in Germany.

The best result among all subjects at Heidelberg University was achieved by Classics and Ancient History, which take seventh place internationally and are again ranked first nationally. In the Arts & Humanities subject area, Theology also has an excellent score; internationally ranked 11th – previously 13th – this improvement by two places puts it in top position nationally. The subjects Archeology in 23rd place and History in 43rd are internationally among the Top 50 in their respective discipline. At the national level, they each occupy fourth place. Taken together, the Arts and Humanities moved up from 72nd position to 66th in the global comparison; Germany-wide they rank fourth.

In the ranking of subject areas, Natural Sciences at Heidelberg University take 55th place internationally and fourth Germany-wide. In the single subject rankings, Physics and Astronomy are jointly assessed worldwide as taking 44th place and come third at the national level. Law – located in the subject area Social Sciences & Management – occupies 69th place internationally, which means fourth place across Germany.

The Rankings by Subject – published on 12 March 2025 – are primarily based on data from academic and employer surveys carried out for the QS World University Rankings and here evaluated in terms of specific subjects. Citation analyses are likewise considered. In some subjects account is taken of the indicator “International Research Networks”. The indicators are weighted differently depending on the subject areas and the individual disciplines.