Among the top 20 percent of all universities

FAU again among the best universities in the 2026 QS World University Ranking

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) belongs to the top 20 percent of universities worldwide according to the latest QS World University Ranking. FAU thus stays at the same level as last year and ranks at place 232 of 1501 universities.

FAU in an international comparison

FAU did particularly well in the category “citations per researcher”, where it was ranked at place 59 in the international comparison. Under “employer reputation”, FAU moved forward 56 places compared to last year to place 290. FAU also made a significant improvement of 29 places compared to last year in the international comparison in the “academic reputation” category at place 316.

Great performance also at national level

Nationally, FAU ranks 14th. It scored particularly well in the “citations per researcher” category, coming in first place in Germany compared with second place in 2025. In the “international students” category, FAU is ranked 9th and 14th for “sustainability”. FAU’s results also improved on a national level in the “employer reputation” category, from 18th place to 13th place.

About the QS World University Ranking

The QS World University Ranking, which is published annually by Quacquarelli Symonds, combines general rankings for universities worldwide with subject rankings and regional comparisons, e.g. from Asia, Central Asia, Latin America and Europe. From around 8000 evaluated universities from 106 countries, 1501 were included in the 2026 ranking, 48 of which were from Germany. The ranking has comprised 9 indicators since 2023, which cover the categories research, employability, teaching, global networking and sustainability.

Link to the indicators and weighting
All positions from the QS Ranking

Further information

Dr. Amelie Feder
Ranking Coordinator (Data and Management Information)
+49 9131 85 24881
amelie.feder@fau.de