University of Cologne: Rankings
University of Cologne ranked 11 in Germany, 168 in the global 2026 rating, and scored in the TOP 1-3 across multiple research topics. The ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EliteDegrees's index has 112,969 academic publications and 3,350,656 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of notable alumni.
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 168 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 1 of 8 | In Cologne |
| # 57 of 2,786 | In Europe |
| # 11 of 369 | In Germany |
| # 2 of 64 | In North Rhine-Westphalia |
| # 184 of 5,373 | For Medicine |
| # 219 of 6,308 | For Biology |
| # 222 of 6,568 | For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Jump to topical rankings below
Biology rankings
University of Cologne ranked 17 for Biology in Germany and 219 in the World with 60,975 publications made and 2,443,902 citations received.
University of Cologne
Biology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astrobiology | #3 | #27 | #89 |
| Molecular | #5 | #20 | #94 |
| Entomology | #8 | #37 | #111 |
| Evolutionary | #4 | #46 | #147 |
| Immunology | #13 | #48 | #150 |
| Oncology | #12 | #44 | #169 |
| Biophysics | #17 | #56 | #175 |
| Genetics | #14 | #60 | #175 |
| Neuroscience | #18 | #66 | #191 |
| Biochemistry | #17 | #66 | #192 |
| Microbiology | #9 | #61 | #194 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #15 | #72 | #197 |
| Virology | #16 | #69 | #218 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #7 | #77 | #242 |
| Ethics | #9 | #79 | #243 |
| Botany | #16 | #84 | #243 |
| Paleontology | #15 | #86 | #247 |
| Biotechnology | #16 | #98 | #274 |
| Pharmacology | #18 | #94 | #277 |
| Zoology | #18 | #106 | #286 |
| Horticulture | #20 | #124 | #395 |
| Forestry | #23 | #165 | #493 |
| Nanotechnology | #45 | #202 | #619 |
| Animal Science | #27 | #251 | #859 |
| Toxicology | #41 | #267 | #925 |
Medicine rankings
University of Cologne ranked 13 for Medicine in Germany and 184 in the World with 52,024 publications made and 1,883,443 citations received.
University of Cologne
Medicine Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | #11 | #16 | #37 |
| Forensic Science | #4 | #21 | #55 |
| Neurosurgery | #15 | #35 | #89 |
| Radiation Therapy | #9 | #21 | #93 |
| Ophthalmology | #8 | #21 | #102 |
| Pharmacy | #28 | #59 | #131 |
| Immunology | #13 | #48 | #150 |
| Surgery | #12 | #47 | #166 |
| Dermatology | #20 | #62 | #168 |
| Oncology | #12 | #44 | #169 |
| Cardiology | #15 | #59 | #176 |
| Radiology | #15 | #59 | #184 |
| Pathology | #12 | #65 | #193 |
| Anesthesiology | #17 | #65 | #207 |
| Psychiatry | #18 | #76 | #218 |
| Audiology | #30 | #90 | #218 |
| Virology | #16 | #69 | #218 |
| Optometry | #12 | #75 | #228 |
| Ethics | #9 | #79 | #243 |
| Pediatrics | #16 | #96 | #265 |
| Epidemiology | #12 | #103 | #272 |
| Dentistry | #22 | #96 | #275 |
| Sports | #15 | #103 | #277 |
| Pharmacology | #18 | #94 | #277 |
| Orthodontics | #24 | #98 | #278 |
| Paramedicine and Emergency | #9 | #85 | #281 |
| Physical Therapy | #14 | #105 | #287 |
| Health Science | #11 | #89 | #293 |
| Urology | #25 | #103 | #300 |
| Plastic Surgery | #16 | #89 | #305 |
| Clinical Psychology | #19 | #96 | #307 |
| Nursing | #8 | #100 | #312 |
| Healthcare Administration | #7 | #111 | #344 |
| Gerontology | #9 | #109 | #368 |
| Occupational Therapy | #19 | #157 | #396 |
| Cosmetology | #33 | #175 | #503 |
| Veterinary | #23 | #184 | #692 |
| Toxicology | #41 | #267 | #925 |
Chemistry rankings
University of Cologne ranked 20 for Chemistry in Germany and 245 in the World with 49,222 publications made and 1,964,867 citations received.
University of Cologne
Chemistry Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacy | #28 | #59 | #131 |
| Biochemistry | #17 | #66 | #192 |
| Computational | #27 | #112 | #259 |
| Organic chemistry | #26 | #98 | #307 |
| Radiochemistry | #17 | #91 | #422 |
| Physical | #42 | #198 | #574 |
| Nanotechnology | #45 | #202 | #619 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #56 | #382 | #1016 |
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings
University of Cologne ranked 10 for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in Germany and 222 in the World with 42,073 publications made and 939,378 citations received.
University of Cologne
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forensic Science | #4 | #21 | #55 |
| Philosophy | #13 | #69 | #176 |
| International Law | #7 | #91 | #201 |
| Political Science | #8 | #75 | #207 |
| Linguistics | #14 | #87 | #251 |
| History | #13 | #102 | #289 |
| Archaeology | #14 | #108 | #306 |
| Special Education | #8 | #109 | #323 |
| Genealogy | #10 | #113 | #326 |
| Demography | #14 | #119 | #339 |
| Law | #12 | #124 | #352 |
| Aesthetics | #15 | #142 | #366 |
| Sociology | #11 | #133 | #373 |
| Anthropology | #9 | #144 | #398 |
| Broadcast Journalism | #10 | #138 | #422 |
| Education | #10 | #127 | #431 |
| Media Studies | #11 | #182 | #486 |
| Publishing | #18 | #188 | #490 |
| Gender Studies | #11 | #180 | #535 |
Physics rankings
University of Cologne ranked 23 for Physics in Germany and 283 in the World with 38,493 publications made and 1,230,400 citations received.
University of Cologne
Physics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astrobiology | #3 | #27 | #89 |
| Condensed Matter | #7 | #23 | #92 |
| Theoretical | #11 | #47 | #109 |
| Molecular | #15 | #45 | #114 |
| Biophysics | #17 | #56 | #175 |
| Optics | #26 | #109 | #310 |
| Applied Physics | #32 | #136 | #374 |
| Nanotechnology | #45 | #202 | #619 |
Engineering rankings
University of Cologne ranked 27 for Engineering in Germany and 390 in the World with 34,845 publications made and 1,102,776 citations received.
University of Cologne
Engineering Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biotechnology | #16 | #98 | #274 |
| Remote Sensing | #11 | #87 | #276 |
| Optics | #26 | #109 | #310 |
| Aviation | #13 | #135 | #355 |
| Applied Physics | #32 | #136 | #374 |
| Operations Research | #18 | #138 | #408 |
| Metallurgy | #31 | #133 | #416 |
| Construction Management | #23 | #197 | #536 |
| Systems | #38 | #231 | #564 |
| Telecommunications | #34 | #209 | #593 |
| Nanotechnology | #45 | #202 | #619 |
| Landscape Architecture | #21 | #331 | #846 |
| Renewable Energy | #32 | #298 | #926 |
| Computer Engineering | #50 | #312 | #932 |
| Architecture | #57 | #393 | #936 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #56 | #382 | #1016 |
| Engineering Management | #31 | #344 | #1017 |
| Reliability and Quality | #44 | #347 | #1024 |
| Environmental Engineering | #44 | #323 | #1026 |
| Automation and Control | #54 | #425 | #1424 |
| Robotics | #67 | #483 | #1560 |
Computer Science rankings
University of Cologne ranked 23 for Computer Science in Germany and 327 in the World with 33,566 publications made and 1,186,173 citations received.
University of Cologne
Computer Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuroscience | #18 | #66 | #191 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #15 | #72 | #197 |
| Computational Linguistics | #22 | #117 | #300 |
| Cognitive Science | #30 | #131 | #358 |
| Computer Vision | #24 | #138 | #392 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #17 | #165 | #407 |
| Information Technology | #8 | #125 | #423 |
| Machine Learning | #25 | #164 | #499 |
| Data Science | #41 | #255 | #591 |
| Telecommunications | #34 | #209 | #593 |
| Animation | #47 | #262 | #679 |
| Software Engineering | #52 | #317 | #711 |
| Multimedia | #46 | #292 | #741 |
| Computer Engineering | #50 | #312 | #932 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #72 | #474 | #1520 |
| Robotics | #67 | #483 | #1560 |
Environmental Science rankings
University of Cologne ranked 18 for Environmental Science in Germany and 327 in the World with 31,168 publications made and 1,010,994 citations received.
University of Cologne
Environmental Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #7 | #77 | #242 |
| Paleontology | #15 | #86 | #247 |
| Geology | #19 | #100 | #294 |
| Earth science and Geoscience | #21 | #101 | #298 |
| Oceanography | #20 | #124 | #351 |
| Ecology | #23 | #140 | #387 |
| Forestry | #23 | #165 | #493 |
| Environmental Management | #32 | #247 | #715 |
| Hydrology and Water resources | #26 | #188 | #738 |
| Environmental Engineering | #44 | #323 | #1026 |
Psychology rankings
University of Cologne ranked 16 for Psychology in Germany and 245 in the World with 23,782 publications made and 844,838 citations received.
University of Cologne
Psychology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuroscience | #18 | #66 | #191 |
| Psychiatry | #18 | #76 | #218 |
| Clinical Psychology | #19 | #96 | #307 |
| Special Education | #8 | #109 | #323 |
| Cognitive Science | #30 | #131 | #358 |
| Occupational Therapy | #19 | #157 | #396 |
| Education | #10 | #127 | #431 |
| Human Sexuality | #12 | #187 | #616 |
Mathematics rankings
University of Cologne ranked 24 for Mathematics in Germany and 360 in the World with 14,080 publications made and 478,632 citations received.
University of Cologne
Mathematics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuarial Science | #3 | #31 | #116 |
| Econometrics | #9 | #67 | #186 |
| Applied Mathematics | #25 | #122 | #308 |
| Statistics | #23 | #125 | #343 |
| Operations Research | #18 | #138 | #408 |
| Mathematics Education | #17 | #164 | #524 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #72 | #474 | #1520 |
Business rankings
University of Cologne ranked 19 for Business in Germany and 399 in the World with 9,338 publications made and 288,250 citations received.
University of Cologne
Business Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuarial Science | #3 | #31 | #116 |
| Finance | #10 | #88 | #235 |
| International Trade | #14 | #175 | #305 |
| Accounting | #7 | #99 | #313 |
| Marketing | #16 | #135 | #366 |
| Entrepreneurship | #17 | #172 | #375 |
| Risk Management | #18 | #160 | #387 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #17 | #165 | #407 |
| Operations Research | #18 | #138 | #408 |
| Project Management | #21 | #183 | #415 |
| Advertising | #15 | #148 | #438 |
| Management | #28 | #184 | #511 |
| Construction Management | #23 | #197 | #536 |
| Engineering Management | #31 | #344 | #1017 |
| Tax Law | #3 | #17 | #70 |
Economics rankings
University of Cologne ranked 11 for Economics in Germany and 303 in the World with 8,644 publications made and 262,837 citations received.
University of Cologne
Economics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuarial Science | #3 | #31 | #116 |
| Econometrics | #9 | #67 | #186 |
| Finance | #10 | #88 | #235 |
| International Trade | #14 | #175 | #305 |
Art & Design rankings
University of Cologne ranked 19 for Art & Design in Germany and 363 in the World with 5,242 publications made and 110,717 citations received.
University of Cologne
Art & Design Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literature | #8 | #87 | #233 |
| Music | #11 | #108 | #268 |
| Acting and Drama | #13 | #136 | #320 |
| Photography | #15 | #146 | #363 |
| Aesthetics | #15 | #142 | #366 |
| Creative Writing | #8 | #158 | #404 |
| Cinematography | #8 | #181 | #423 |
| Sculpture | #14 | #199 | #429 |
| Graphic Design | #40 | #212 | #548 |
| Animation | #47 | #262 | #679 |
| Multimedia | #46 | #292 | #741 |
| Landscape Architecture | #21 | #331 | #846 |
| Interior Design | #18 | #317 | #893 |
| Architecture | #57 | #393 | #936 |
