Top Results in QS Subject Rankings
8 May 2013
Ruperto Carola No. 1 in Germany in three subjects
In the QS Subject Rankings 2013, Heidelberg University continues to hold its leadership position in the national and international arena. Ruperto Carola leads German universities in medicine, the geosciences, and political sciences. Overall Heidelberg is among the 50 best universities worldwide in seven subjects – that is one more than last year. In fact, in five of those subjects, the university significantly improved its standing over last year.
In medicine, Heidelberg ranked 36th (41st last year), thus affirming its place as the best university in Germany. Philosophy and law fared considerably better than in 2012. Ranked at 25th (46th last year) in philosophy, Heidelberg places second in Germany behind Humboldt University Berlin. With a rating of 41 in law (not surveyed last year), Heidelberg was likewise ranked as the second best university in Germany, with Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) at the top. The university ranks 42nd in life sciences, bettered only by LMU. History, which was not ranked last year, earned a ranking of 38, making Heidelberg the third best university in Germany behind the two major universities in Berlin.
Also high scorers among the top 50 were modern languages (47th, 4th in Germany) and physics and astronomy (35th, 5th in Germany). In the 51 to 100 category, Heidelberg is Germany’s second best university in pharmacy after LMU, and the third best in English and psychology.
The assessment in the QS Subject Rankings is based on data from the QS World University Rankings from the fall of 2012. The indicators for the individual subject rankings were calculated from a subset of the data from the main ranking, namely data from surveys of academics and employers as well as citation analyses. For the first time, the QS Subject Rankings 2013 include a factor based on the so-called h-index, which attempts to measure the impact of the published works of a scientist or in a specific field of research. The QS Subject Rankings have been performed annually since 2011.
