Higher education rankings and league tables are important instruments for universities when it comes to presenting themselves to the general public. Highly diverse in their methodologies, the message conveyed and the target audiences, rankings provide insights into various areas of performance as well as a good overview of the university and research landscape in general. Whether in the international arena, as is the case with the THE Rankings and or the CHE Rankings for the German-speaking world, the University of Passau regularly scores highly, highlighting the strong performance and high quality of the University's research, teaching and student experience.
The University of Passau has consistently placed among the leading 30 percent of worldwide higher education institutions since it first participated in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking ten years ago.
In the latest THE World University Ranking, the University improved its overall score and now places in the 601–650 band of a total of 2,297 participating HEIs.
In the THE Subject Rankings, too, the University of Passau has been remarkably successful: for instance, Passau's business, economics and information systems faculty is ranked among the top 201–250 departments in the world.
CHE Ranking 2026: University of Passau achieves numerous top placements nationwide.
This year's cycle ranked Law, Business Administration, and Information Systems. Based on student evaluations, all three subject areas have placed in the top tier nationwide – and achieved top marks in many cases.
In Business Information Systems, the "General study situation" was rated particularly highly: with 4.7 stars (out of a maximum of 5), it achieved the highest score of all public universities in Germany. Furthermore, "Support during studies" was rated with 4.6 stars, making Passau's Information Systems programme the outright leader nationwide.
The Faculty of Law has – once again – been awarded a top score for "Support with exam preparation": with 4.6 stars, it ranks among the three best-rated public universities in Germany.
The QS World University Ranking is one of the most widely recognised international university rankings. It is published annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The ranking currently compares over 1,500 universities.
In its first participation, the University placed in the 1201–1400 band. This year’s ranking is led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from the USA. Imperial College London (UK) is in second place, followed by Stanford University (USA).
In its sixth participation in the UI GreenMetric Ranking, the University of Passau has, for the first time, made it into the global top ten percent, placing 187th of 2,016 higher education institutions.
The University has thus most recently been able to consistently pursue and successfully implement its strategic aim of strengthening climate protection, environmental management and sustainability.
Since 2020, the German publication manager magazin has been honouring "Germany's best universities for auditors" in a biennial ranking.
In the current 2026/27 ranking, the University of Passau has improved by two places to a strong 12th position, thus continuing to rank among Germany's best universities for future auditors.
The Faculty of Law at the University of Passau regularly achieves top rankings in national comparisons.
Top results in various Germany-wide rankings (LTO, BRF, CHE) are proof of the outstanding quality of Passau's legal education.
