Academic Index Last updated: June 22, 2026

22 Best Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia for Education

We ranked the top 22 universities for Education in North Rhine-Westphalia based on strict academic metrics. To determine these leaders, we isolated 1.06M specialized research publications which collectively generated 28.43M citations. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

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1

Cologne

University of Cologne

#11 in Germany #57 in Europe

33% Acceptance

52,204 Enrollment

1388 Founded

2

Aachen

RWTH Aachen University

#12 in Germany #59 in Europe

35% Acceptance

47,521 Enrollment

1870 Founded

3

Bochum

Ruhr University Bochum

#21 in Germany #91 in Europe

28% Acceptance

42,954 Enrollment

1962 Founded

4

Munster

University of Munster

#16 in Germany #70 in Europe

14% Acceptance

43,728 Enrollment

1780 Founded

5

Dortmund

TU Dortmund University

#41 in Germany #193 in Europe

59% Acceptance

34,616 Enrollment

1968 Founded

6

Bonn

University of Bonn

#7 in Germany #42 in Europe

36% Acceptance

38,043 Enrollment

1818 Founded

7

Cologne

German Sport University Cologne

#76 in Germany #539 in Europe

30% Acceptance

6,000 Enrollment

1947 Founded

8

Aachen

Aachen University of Applied Sciences

#73 in Germany #509 in Europe

51% Acceptance

13,671 Enrollment

1971 Founded

9

Witten

Witten/Herdecke University

#68 in Germany #457 in Europe

50% Acceptance

2,894 Enrollment

1982 Founded

10

Hagen

University of Hagen

#65 in Germany #431 in Europe

43% Acceptance

71,351 Enrollment

1974 Founded

11

Siegen

University of Siegen

#59 in Germany #322 in Europe

54% Acceptance

17,805 Enrollment

1972 Founded

12

Bielefeld

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

#122 in Germany #892 in Europe

60% Acceptance

8,633 Enrollment

1971 Founded

13

Paderborn

University of Paderborn

#58 in Germany #321 in Europe

60% Acceptance

19,110 Enrollment

1972 Founded

14

Dortmund

University of Applied Sciences and Arts

#121 in Germany #889 in Europe

68% Acceptance

14,373 Enrollment

1971 Founded

15

Wuppertal

University of Wuppertal

#54 in Germany #304 in Europe

40% Acceptance

22,601 Enrollment

1972 Founded

16

Sankt Augustin

Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences

#104 in Germany #818 in Europe

51% Acceptance

8,000 Enrollment

1995 Founded

17

Bielefeld

University of Bielefeld

#34 in Germany #164 in Europe

50% Acceptance

23,342 Enrollment

1969 Founded

18

Munster

Munster University of Applied Sciences

#91 in Germany #725 in Europe

40% Acceptance

15,000 Enrollment

1971 Founded

19

Dusseldorf

Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf

#32 in Germany #157 in Europe

51% Acceptance

37,473 Enrollment

1965 Founded

20

Cologne

Cologne University of Applied Sciences

#85 in Germany #637 in Europe

51% Acceptance

27,000 Enrollment

1971 Founded

21

Essen

University of Duisburg – Essen

#31 in Germany #156 in Europe

51% Acceptance

43,281 Enrollment

2003 Founded

22

Essen

Folkwang University of the Arts

#77 in Germany #542 in Europe

46% Acceptance

1,506 Enrollment

1927 Founded