The recently published 2025 THE World University Ranking compares 2,092 universities from 115 countries and regions. Compared to the previous year, JMU has once again improved its position. It now ranks 163rd worldwide and has thus improved by twelve places. In Germany, it climbed one place to 16th, and in Bavaria, it remains in third place - behind the two Munich universities.
Ranked 1st in Bavaria for research quality
JMU once again demonstrates its excellent potential in the ‘research quality’ category. Here, the University of Würzburg ranks 79th worldwide and 3rd in Germany, in this case even higher than the two large Munich universities.
The ‘research quality’ category looks at the results of bibliometric analyses, which show that publications authored or co-authored by JMU researchers are cited very frequently by other researchers and have a particularly high impact on the debate in the research community. The number of frequently-cited and influential publications is considered in relation to the number of a university's academic staff.
When it comes to the transfer of research findings into practical applications, JMU ranks 35th worldwide and 10th in Germany, which is an improvement of four places. The THE ranking measures a university’s performance in the ‘transfer’ category via the amount of funding received from commercial enterprises and foundations in relation to the number of academic staff as well as the number of publications by university members that are cited in patents.
Well positioned for the Excellence Competition
University President Paul Pauli is particularly pleased about Würzburg's strong performance in research – which has been confirmed by the THE Ranking and other university rankings – and emphasizes: ‘The high scores we keep achieving for research quality confirm that we are on the right track and are very well positioned for the Excellence Competition with the leading German universities.’
The THE Ranking
The THE Ranking uses a total of 18 performance indicators that take into account the number of publications and citations, research and teaching reputation, success in securing research funding, international orientation and the teacher-to-student ratio.