The Best Universities for PhDs in Environmental Sciences in Germany (2024) | FindAPhD.com
Don't miss our weekly PhD newsletter | Sign up now Don't miss our weekly PhD newsletter | Sign up now

The Best Universities for PhDs in Environmental Sciences in Germany (2024)

Written by FAU Bot

This article was written with the assistance of generative AI. All AI content on our site is guided and vetted for accuracy by humans, and data referenced is collected from reliable, authoritative sources.

Why Study Environmental Sciences in Germany

There are many reasons why someone might want to study an Environmental Sciences PhD at a university in Germany. Here are just a few:

  • Germany is home to some of the most prestigious universities and research facilities in Europe, many with a strong focus on Environmental Sciences, which are consistently ranked highly in global rankings.
  • With a national commitment to sustainability and renewable energy, Germany offers PhD candidates an opportunity to study and contribute to cutting-edge sustainable practices and policies within environmental science disciplines.
  • Students are able to enjoy access to generous funding opportunities from organisations like the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation as well as EU-based grants for innovative research projects.
  • Although many PhD programmes are offered in English, catering for international students, mastering German during your stay could provide significant advantages when try to understand scientific literature within local context.

The Best Universities for Environmental Sciences in Germany

The following tables give the 10 top universities in Germany for Environmental Sciences PhDs, according to global and local university rankings. It can show you which German universities are amongst the best in the world - and help you compare institutions on an international level.

This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education, QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Each ranking system uses its own methodology, with different factors having more or less influence on a university's result.

Our guide has more information on how to use international rankings to decide on the best research universities for PhD study.


Top 10 Universities in Germany for Environmental Sciences (Times Higher Education)
University Germany Rank Global Rank
University of Heidelberg 1 42
LMU Munich 2 27
University of Bonn 3 40
University of Göttingen 4 =77
Technical University of Munich 5 22
Humboldt University 6 =74
RWTH Aachen University 7 68
University of Potsdam 8 176-200
University of Würzburg 9 176-200
University of Freiburg 10 151-175
This information is based on the research score from the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the Times Higher Education rankings?

The Times Higher Education rankings are strong in academic focus and diverse teaching metrics, but do not include employer-specific metrics. Additionally, the rankings may not include all specialist institutions.


Top 10 Universities in Germany for Environmental Sciences (QS)
University Germany Rank Global Rank
Humboldt University 1 79
Technical University of Berlin 2 =84
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 3 65
RWTH Aachen University 4 =100
University of Leipzig 5 151-200
LMU Munich 6 151-200
University of Jena 7 351-400
Goethe University Frankfurt 8 201-250
University of Freiburg 9 151-200
University of Göttingen 10 =116
This information is based on the citations per paper score from the latest rankings tables, researched and published by QS World University Rankings. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the QS rankings?

The QS World University Rankings are designed to meet the needs of prospective students, with more weight given to student-centric metrics such as staff/student ratio, international recruitment and employer opinion. The rankings are balanced between qualitative and quantitative data, but give less weight to research than some other rankings.


Top 10 Universities in Germany for Environmental Sciences (ARWU)
University Germany Rank Global Rank
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 1 101-150
Technical University of Munich 2 18
Humboldt University 3 151-200
RWTH Aachen University 4 151-200
Technical University of Berlin 5 201-300
University of Göttingen 6 201-300
University of Munich 7 301-400
University of Bremen 8 301-400
Technical University of Dresden 9 301-400
University of Hamburg 10 401-500
This information is based on the number of papers published by an institution in an academic subject in journals, this is from the latest Mechanical Engineering rankings tables, researched and published by Academic Ranking of World Universities. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the ARWU rankings?

The ARWU rankings reflect the presence of elite academics and the future academic success of graduates. However, they do not directly assess the quality of education at a university or take into account other aspects of university performance.


Last Updated: 11 October 2024