2nd place in Germany, 10th place in Europe, 26th place worldwide / The latest top agrar university ranking also sees the University of Hohenheim as #1 in university teaching

Top place for top research: In the agricultural sciences including food sciences, the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart took 2nd place in the current QS World University Ranking by Subject 2024. In Europe, it is among the top ten in this area. And her students appreciate this, too: last December, they voted the University of Hohenheim number 1 in the top agrar university ranking

Two renowned rankings have placed the University of Hohenheim's research in agricultural and food science at the top in Germany:

• The QS World University Ranking by Subject published today lists the University of Hohenheim as 2nd in Germany, 10th in Europe, and 26th worldwide. This ranking assesses a wide range of factors such as academic reputation, scientific publications, international research network, and the reputation of graduates among employers. (see https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings.
• The current NTU ranking by National Taiwan University lists the University of Hohenheim as No. 1 in Germany, No. 15 in Europe, and No. 52 in the world in the area of agricultural research and food sciences. The NTU annually evaluates the number and quality of international scientific publications for the globally recognized ranking. The most recent NTU ranking was published in August 2024. (see press release https://t1p.de/roh0k)

The University of Hohenheim has also recently been ranked as the top university in teaching:

• In the current top agrar university ranking by the trade journal top agrar, agricultural students once again voted the University of Hohenheim first among universities in three areas: best teaching on plant production, animal production and agricultural engineering. 96 percent of students – more than at any other listed university – would recommend their university. The latest edition of the ranking was published in December 2024 (see press release https://t1p.de/nl0rq)

Different methodologies

The QS World University Ranking by Subject carried out by the British education provider QS Quacquarelli Symonds focuses on research strength. For agricultural and forestry sciences, it surveys the factors academic reputation (40%), citations of individual publications (20%), the H-index as an indicator of the reputation of individuals in professional circles (20%), the international research network (10%), and the reputation of graduates among employers (10%). This year, the ranking analyzed a total of 55 subjects at 5,203 research institutions.

The NTU Ranking evaluates the research performance of universities based on objective indicators. The main focus is on scientific publications. A total of eight indicators with different weightings are used for the overall evaluation, providing information on research productivity (25%), research influence (35%) and research excellence (40%). In 2024, the NTU Ranking ranked the top 1,561 universities.

Every two years, the trade journal top agrar and its job portal ask students in agricultural degree programs to evaluate their studies for the top agrar university ranking. Students at universities and technical colleges in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are surveyed. In the most recent ranking from December 2024, 3,800 students from 33 universities participated, 335 of whom were from Hohenheim.


Top positions in the current QS ranking also for partners of the University of Hohenheim

The environment in which the QS ranking by subject sees the University of Hohenheim is also encouraging. In addition to Wageningen University & Research WUR (Netherlands), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU (Sweden), L'Institut Agro (France) and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway) are among the top ten in Europe. The University of Hohenheim is connected with these universities through the European Bioeconomy University and the European University of Life Sciences for Sustainability SUSTAIN-LIFE. This network focuses on joint research projects, study programmes, and intensive exchange of students and teaching staff.

This year, the China Agricultural University (CAU, China) is ranked first in China and fourth worldwide. The University of Hohenheim has been cooperating with the CAU for about 40 years – including since 2018 in the form of the German-Chinese international DFG Research Training Group AMAIZE-P on resource-efficient phosphate use.



Top lists of agricultural research in Germany, Europe and the world according to the 2025 QS ranking


GERMANY

1. University of Göttingen
2. University of Hohenheim
3. TU München
4. University of Bonn
5. University of Freiburg
6. HU Berlin
Worldwide ranking 101 to 150: University of Kiel, JLU Giessen, University of Halle-Wittenberg
Worldwide ranking 151 to 200: TU Dresden
Worldwide ranking 351-400: University of Rostock


EUROPE

1. Wageningen University & Research, Netzerlands
2. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
3. ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland
4. Ghent University, Belgium
5. Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Norway
6. University of Copenhagen Denmark
7. University of ReadingUnited Kingdom
9. L'Institut Agro (L'Institut Agro Dijon, L'Institut Agro Montpellier, L'Institut Agro Rennes Angers)
8. University of Göttingen
10. University of Hohenheim, Germany


WORLD

1. Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
2. University of California, Davis, USA
3. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
4. China Agricultural University, China (Mainland)
5. Cornell University, USA
6. Purdue University, USA
7. ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland
8. Ghent University, Belgium
9. University of California, Berkeley (UCB), USA
10. Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Norway

26. University of Hohenheim, Germany

Explanation: Starting with place 100, the QS ranking does not give exact placements. Instead, it groups the universities into clusters for places 101-150, 151-200, etc. in which the universities are sorted alphabetically.