Academic Index Last updated: June 22, 2026

29 Best Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

If you are looking to study Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia, our index highlights the top 29 domain-leading institutions. To determine these leaders, we isolated 392.7K specialized research publications which collectively generated 8.12M citations. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

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1

Munster

University of Munster

#16 in Germany #70 in Europe

14% Acceptance

43,728 Enrollment

1780 Founded

2

Bonn

University of Bonn

#7 in Germany #42 in Europe

36% Acceptance

38,043 Enrollment

1818 Founded

3

Cologne

University of Cologne

#11 in Germany #57 in Europe

33% Acceptance

52,204 Enrollment

1388 Founded

4

Aachen

RWTH Aachen University

#12 in Germany #59 in Europe

35% Acceptance

47,521 Enrollment

1870 Founded

5

Bochum

Ruhr University Bochum

#21 in Germany #91 in Europe

28% Acceptance

42,954 Enrollment

1962 Founded

6

Bielefeld

University of Bielefeld

#34 in Germany #164 in Europe

50% Acceptance

23,342 Enrollment

1969 Founded

7

Dusseldorf

Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf

#32 in Germany #157 in Europe

51% Acceptance

37,473 Enrollment

1965 Founded

8

Essen

University of Duisburg – Essen

#31 in Germany #156 in Europe

51% Acceptance

43,281 Enrollment

2003 Founded

9

Dortmund

TU Dortmund University

#41 in Germany #193 in Europe

59% Acceptance

34,616 Enrollment

1968 Founded

10

Paderborn

University of Paderborn

#58 in Germany #321 in Europe

60% Acceptance

19,110 Enrollment

1972 Founded

11

Wuppertal

University of Wuppertal

#54 in Germany #304 in Europe

40% Acceptance

22,601 Enrollment

1972 Founded

12

Siegen

University of Siegen

#59 in Germany #322 in Europe

54% Acceptance

17,805 Enrollment

1972 Founded

13

Hagen

University of Hagen

#65 in Germany #431 in Europe

43% Acceptance

71,351 Enrollment

1974 Founded

14

Witten

Witten/Herdecke University

#68 in Germany #457 in Europe

50% Acceptance

2,894 Enrollment

1982 Founded

15

Essen

Folkwang University of the Arts

#77 in Germany #542 in Europe

46% Acceptance

1,506 Enrollment

1927 Founded

16

Aachen

Aachen University of Applied Sciences

#73 in Germany #509 in Europe

51% Acceptance

13,671 Enrollment

1971 Founded

17

Dusseldorf

University of Applied Sciences Dusseldorf

#94 in Germany #732 in Europe

32% Acceptance

11,170 Enrollment

1971 Founded

18

Cologne

German Sport University Cologne

#76 in Germany #539 in Europe

30% Acceptance

6,000 Enrollment

1947 Founded

19

Cologne

Cologne University of Applied Sciences

#85 in Germany #637 in Europe

51% Acceptance

27,000 Enrollment

1971 Founded

20

Essen

University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management

#139 in Germany #1006 in Europe

43% Acceptance

47,098 Enrollment

1993 Founded

21

Munster

Munster University of Applied Sciences

#91 in Germany #725 in Europe

40% Acceptance

15,000 Enrollment

1971 Founded

22

Bielefeld

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

#122 in Germany #892 in Europe

60% Acceptance

8,633 Enrollment

1971 Founded

23

Sankt Augustin

Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences

#104 in Germany #818 in Europe

51% Acceptance

8,000 Enrollment

1995 Founded

24

Dortmund

University of Applied Sciences and Arts

#121 in Germany #889 in Europe

68% Acceptance

14,373 Enrollment

1971 Founded

25

Lemgo

Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences

#130 in Germany #935 in Europe

40% Acceptance

5,938 Enrollment

1971 Founded

26

Cologne

Cologne Business School

#153 in Germany #1121 in Europe

33% Acceptance

1,123 Enrollment

1993 Founded

27

Kleve

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

#161 in Germany #1195 in Europe

68% Acceptance

6,723 Enrollment

2009 Founded

28

Iserlohn

University of Applied Sciences Europe

#200 in Germany #1613 in Europe

56% Acceptance

2,906 Enrollment

2000 Founded

29

Cologne

Academy of Media Arts Cologne

#157 in Germany #1142 in Europe

16% Acceptance

398 Enrollment

1990 Founded