The latest results of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), better known as the "Shanghai Ranking", were published in August 2024. Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) once again achieved an excellent result. As in previous years, the ranking is led by Harvard University in the USA.
Within Germany, JMU achieves a remarkable 12th place. Among the universities of Bavaria, JMU secures the third place and once again emphasises its strong position in the Bavarian system of higher education. The top rank in Germany and thus also Bavaria is held by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), followed by the Technical University of Munich (TUM). JMU is ranked between the 201st and 300th best universities worldwide.
Statements from the University Board
JMU President Paul Pauli is delighted: "The Shanghai ranking illustrates our strong international research performance. This is the result of the outstanding work of our scientists, to whom I would like to express my sincere thanks!"Caroline Kisker, JMU Vice President for Research and Academic Career Development, sees the result as a tailwind for the upcoming assessments in the context of the Excellence Strategy: "We are excellently positioned for both cluster applications, with great scientists who have contributed to the ranking results. We are very proud and look forward to the challenges ahead."
The Criteria Used for this Ranking
The Shanghai Ranking assesses the research performance of universities based on six criteria, including the number of alumni and current researchers who have been awarded major prizes such as the Nobel Prize, the number of articles published in the leading scientific journals Nature and Science and the number of frequently cited researchers, the so-called Highly Cited Researchers.The ranking also sets these criteria in relation to the scientific staff of the institutions. In this "Per Capita Performance", JMU was able to significantly improve compared to the previous year (18.7 points) with 33.7 out of 100 possible points.
JMU’s research excellence is also reflected in its publications. With the number of articles in Nature and Science, it ranks among the top 150 universities worldwide.
