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Best business programs in Germany

So you want to study in Germany and are looking for the perfect university for your studies? If attending a high-quality university is important to you, Germany is definitely the right place to head to. But still, there are loads of universities all around Germany, and it is hard keeping an overview of them all. Luckily, there are a few renowned rankings that can help you navigate the university jungle. As many of you requested, we’ll be covering the best universities for business administration today. And if that area isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry! This is an ongoing series in which we will try to cover as many fields as possible. We’ve already taken a look at the best unis for Psychology, and Engineering for example!


Business administration is quite a safe choice. Navigating through job portals, you’ll quickly notice that a business degree is something many job postings list as a requirement. During your studies, you’ll typically be able to focus on one specific area in business (marketing is one example, but there are many more, which also depends on the university) sometimes either after the first year if you are in your Bachelor’s, or you can dive deeper into one field in your Master’s, which will usually take you two years to complete. Make sure to check with your university of interest what kind of specializations they offer, and what else might be interesting to you, such as an integrated work placement, or a semester abroad (especially if you want to head into the direction of international business administration!).


But what are the “best” universities to study Business? Let’s see!


There are multiple institutions that annually rank universities from all around the world. Typically, they have a look at the overall reputation of the university, and then compare specific degree programs with each other. The way these rankings work is usually by looking at how high the research output of a university is, and take other factors into account such as teaching, and international outlook.


Since we’re focusing on Business today, we’re going to check the five best universities for business in Germany according to the Times Higher Education Ranking, QS World Ranking, and the CHE ranking, all with the most recent data from 2021.


According to the THE ranking 2021…

  1. University of Mannheim (39th in the world)

  2. LMU Munich (44)

  3. University of Bonn (55)

  4. TU Munich (64)

  5. TU Berlin (101-125)


This is what the QS World Ranking by subject 2021 has to say…

  1. University of Mannheim (54 in the world)

  2. TU Munich (99)

  3. WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management (109)

  4. LMU Munich (149)

  5. Freie Universität Berlin (151-200)

And finally, the CHE Ranking 2021

  1. Uni Augsburg

  2. Uni Bayreuth

  3. University of Mannheim

  4. LMU Munich

  5. TU Munich


As you can see, there is no right or wrong answer here, as all the rankings work slightly differently, they don’t all come to the same conclusions. Business is a well-regarded subject in Germany, so the apparent prestige of a university should not be your main reason to pick a certain university over the other.


Think about the things that are important to you: do you prefer living in a small student city? Or are you looking for an exciting life in a big city? Do you want to have tutorials in smaller classes or a large auditorium? Are you a fan of skiing, or would you rather spend your weekends by the sea? Answering these questions should help you choose what uni and location suit you best.


We hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new! Is there a different subject you want us to have a closer look at? Just let us know!


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