Academic Index Last updated: June 22, 2026

15 Best Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia for Sports

Focusing specifically on Sports, our data science engine identified the 15 most influential universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. To determine these leaders, we isolated 969.6K specialized research publications which collectively generated 26.93M citations. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

Active Filters: Sports North Rhine-Westphalia Clear All

Ranking Methodology Notice

Filter

Field of Study

Sub-Branch

1

Cologne

University of Cologne

#11 in Germany #57 in Europe

33% Acceptance

52,204 Enrollment

1388 Founded

2

Bochum

Ruhr University Bochum

#21 in Germany #91 in Europe

28% Acceptance

42,954 Enrollment

1962 Founded

3

Aachen

RWTH Aachen University

#12 in Germany #59 in Europe

35% Acceptance

47,521 Enrollment

1870 Founded

4

Munster

University of Munster

#16 in Germany #70 in Europe

14% Acceptance

43,728 Enrollment

1780 Founded

5

Bonn

University of Bonn

#7 in Germany #42 in Europe

36% Acceptance

38,043 Enrollment

1818 Founded

6

Dortmund

TU Dortmund University

#41 in Germany #193 in Europe

59% Acceptance

34,616 Enrollment

1968 Founded

7

Essen

University of Duisburg – Essen

#31 in Germany #156 in Europe

51% Acceptance

43,281 Enrollment

2003 Founded

8

Bielefeld

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

#122 in Germany #892 in Europe

60% Acceptance

8,633 Enrollment

1971 Founded

9

Dusseldorf

University of Applied Sciences Dusseldorf

#94 in Germany #732 in Europe

32% Acceptance

11,170 Enrollment

1971 Founded

10

Cologne

German Sport University Cologne

#76 in Germany #539 in Europe

30% Acceptance

6,000 Enrollment

1947 Founded

11

Aachen

Aachen University of Applied Sciences

#73 in Germany #509 in Europe

51% Acceptance

13,671 Enrollment

1971 Founded

12

Witten

Witten/Herdecke University

#68 in Germany #457 in Europe

50% Acceptance

2,894 Enrollment

1982 Founded

13

Wuppertal

University of Wuppertal

#54 in Germany #304 in Europe

40% Acceptance

22,601 Enrollment

1972 Founded

14

Bielefeld

University of Bielefeld

#34 in Germany #164 in Europe

50% Acceptance

23,342 Enrollment

1969 Founded

15

Dusseldorf

Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf

#32 in Germany #157 in Europe

51% Acceptance

37,473 Enrollment

1965 Founded