At the very top for the sixth year in a row is Oxford University (UK), while two Chinese universities are included in the top 20 for the first time (Peking University and Tsinghua University). Germany is the third strongest nation among the top 200 again this year. The THE ranking, as well as the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and the QS World University Ranking, are considered to be among the world’s most important higher education rankings. THE rankings focus on five criteria: teaching, research, citations, knowledge transfer, and international reputation. The University of Potsdam is roughly on par with the University of Colorado Denver (USA), Beijing Normal University (China), the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the partner university Stellenbosch (South Africa), all ranking between 251-300.
“The efforts of recent years to further the university’s development are clearly bearing fruit – we have now achieved a sustainable position among the top third of all German universities. We are also in good company in the international context alongside universities with comparable ratings such as the University of Colorado or Stellenbosch/South Africa. In the years to come, we want to continue our ascent – in teaching, research, and transfer. That is also what we discussed with the state government, although this can only work, of course, if the financial resources of the universities do not suffer,” says Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D., President of the University.
Vice President for International Affairs, Alumni and Fundraising at the University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Florian J. Schweigert, emphasized how important digital offers will be in the future for the excellence of the university, especially in light of the crisis: “For universities worldwide, the pandemic was and is a watershed moment for internationalization; mobility, in particular, was only possible to a limited extent or in virtual settings and partnership work also took place through digital networking, above all. So far, we have developed a good blend of digital and real-world mobility. It must now be our goal to not just gradually return to our old form, but to continue to use and develop our innovative formats so that we can continue to do very well in the International Outlook of the ranking in the years to come.”
As recently as June 2021, the University of Potsdam took one of the top spots in the THE U 50 ranking for universities under 50 years of age. With a total of 475 ranked universities from 68 countries, the University of Potsdam was among the top 30 worldwide and ranked 3rd within Germany. In addition, the University of Potsdam is among the top 500 in the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also called Shanghai Ranking, and was able to confirm its good ranking from the previous year. The renowned ranking, which is compiled by the Jiao Tong University of Shanghai, annually compares the research performance of more than 1,800 universities in 54 subjects and publishes the 1,000 best.
Contact: Dr. Silke Brodersen, International Office
Phone: 0331 977-124436
E-Mail: silke.brodersenuuni-potsdampde
Internet: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking
Media information 02-09-2021 / No. 076