Top 20 Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (2026)

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Planning to study in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany? This list features 20 universities. Compare rankings, tuition fees, and acceptance rates to make a confident decision. Institutions are evaluated based on research output, global rankings, and academic performance.

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Degree Level

Bachelor, Master, PhD

Subject Area

Science, Business, Arts

Location

Worldwide destinations

1

Rankings

135 World 39 Europe 6 Germany 1 Bonn

University Information

Bonn, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 36%
Publications 129934
Citations 4156988
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
2

Rankings

166 World 55 Europe 11 Germany 2 Aachen

University Information

Aachen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 32%*
Publications 135111
Citations 3540617
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
3

Rankings

178 World 59 Europe 12 Germany 3 Cologne

University Information

Cologne, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 31%*
Publications 110169
Citations 3178188
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
4

Rankings

194 World 64 Europe 15 Germany 4 Munster

University Information

Munster, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 14%
Publications 104416
Citations 3035255
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: High
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
5

Rankings

265 World 99 Europe 22 Germany 5 Bochum

University Information

Bochum, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 40%*
Publications 104130
Citations 2645940
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
6

Rankings

353 World 138 Europe 28 Germany 6 Dusseldorf

University Information

Dusseldorf, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 58%*
Publications 102681
Citations 3180359
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: High
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
7

Rankings

377 World 151 Europe 31 Germany 7 Essen

University Information

Essen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 50%*
Publications 71129
Citations 1803030
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
8

Rankings

424 World 174 Europe 36 Germany 8 Bielefeld

University Information

Bielefeld, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 50%
Publications 52426
Citations 1266088
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
9

Rankings

473 World 192 Europe 41 Germany 9 Dortmund

University Information

Dortmund, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 59%
Publications 55454
Citations 1221427
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
10

Rankings

759 World 303 Europe 55 Germany 10 Wuppertal

University Information

Wuppertal, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 45%*
Publications 28182
Citations 667797
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
11

Rankings

791 World 314 Europe 58 Germany 11 Paderborn

University Information

Paderborn, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 60%
Publications 29671
Citations 517137
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
12

Rankings

800 World 316 Europe 59 Germany 12 Siegen

University Information

Siegen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 49%*
Publications 24212
Citations 461203
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
13

Rankings

1133 World 424 Europe 64 Germany 13 Hagen

University Information

Hagen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 38%*
Publications 12051
Citations 121929
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Medium
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
14

Rankings

1266 World 467 Europe 70 Germany 14 Witten

University Information

Witten, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 50%
Publications 16956
Citations 333107
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: High
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
15

Rankings

1353 World 492 Europe 73 Germany 15 Aachen

University Information

Aachen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 51%
Publications 18880
Citations 246465
Highest Degree: Master
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
16

Rankings

1495 World 531 Europe 76 Germany 16 Cologne

University Information

Cologne, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 30%
Publications 7517
Citations 152964
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
17

Rankings

1556 World 551 Europe 77 Germany 17 Essen

University Information

Essen, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 39%*
Publications 11488
Citations 224658
Highest Degree: Doctorate
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
18

Rankings

1856 World 631 Europe 86 Germany 18 Cologne

University Information

Cologne, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 51%*
Publications 4417
Citations 53109
Highest Degree: Master
Tuition: Low
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
19

Rankings

2229 World 729 Europe 93 Germany 19 Munster

University Information

Munster, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 32%*
Publications 3450
Citations 33238
Highest Degree: Master
Tuition: Not Available
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
20

Rankings

2332 World 747 Europe 94 Germany 20 Dusseldorf

University Information

Dusseldorf, Germany
Europe
Founded:
Acceptance 29%*
Publications 6533
Citations 28608
Highest Degree: Master
Tuition: High
View Details Visit Website
Last Updated:
Universities in Germany
Aachen Alfter Bad Munstereifel Bielefeld Bochum Bonn Bruhl Cologne Detmold Dortmund Dusseldorf Essen Gelsenkirchen Hagen Hamm Herford Iserlohn Kleve Krefeld Lemgo Mulheim Munster Nordkirchen Paderborn Sankt Augustin Siegen Witten Wuppertal