Rankings & Accreditation

In 2021, the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking ranked RWTH Aachen University among the top 30 of the world’s best universities for engineering sciences and technology, while the QS World University Ranking ranked RWTH Aachen University in Germany 2nd for “Engineering & Technology” and 6th in the category “Business & Management Studies”. RWTH Aachen ranks 7th across all subjects, with a very high score in terms of employer reputation.

According to the QS World University Ranking, RWTH Aachen ranks among the top 13% of universities worldwide. In the category “Statistics & Operational Research”, the Faculty of Economic Sciences was placed in the 51-100 ranking group. Concerning the number of students from abroad, RWTH is distinctly above both national and international averages – 23.9 percent of the University’s student body are international students. By comparison, the international average is 10.8 percent.

In the Academic Ranking Of World Universities by ShanghaiRanking 2020, RWTH Aachen also ranked among the top 10 for Germany, especially in the engineering and social sciences, for example 8th for management and 4th in business administration. In the WirtschaftsWoche ranking of the most research-intensive universities in German-speaking countries in business administration, the faculty ranked 13th out of around 200 universities. In Germany, this is the 9th place. In 2020 the RWTH also achieves the 1st place for industrial engineering in this ranking.

Among the most important strengths of the faculty, which the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) has highlighted in a current ranking, are state-of-the-art digital and blended learning approaches, a strong international orientation of all programs, close connections to industry, and excellent research, measured by internationally recognized publications. In total, the Faculty of Business and Economics is represented in nine top groups.

The school of business and economics at RWTH Aachen University is one of the few faculties in Germany to bear the international seal of approval of the renowned accreditation agency Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The first accreditation of the faculty took place in April 2011, the successful re-accreditation in 2016 and 2021.

With the re-accreditation the AACSB praised the high quality standard in teaching and research, the innovative ability of the faculty as well as the commitment of the teachers. This applies in particular to the extensive e-learning offerings. Worldwide, only 5% of the economic science faculties are AACSB accredited. In Germany, only nine other faculties or business schools meet the high international standards of the AACSB.