Since 2003, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (‘Shanghai Ranking’), one of the world's most influential and highly regarded university rankings, has been published. It has been issued annually by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy since 2009. Since 2017, the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy has also published the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), which ranks universities by academic subject. In 2024, results from more than 5,000 universities across 96 countries and regions were included in the ranking, with more than 1,900 making it onto the list.
Since 2017, and again in 2024, the WiSo Faculty of the University of Cologne, along with the Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology, has maintained the top position in Sociology in Germany. Internationally, Cologne Sociology is also highly regarded, ranking within the 51st–75th positions.
The GRAS 2024 comprises a total of 55 subjects, among which the field of ‘Social Sciences’ is particularly significant for the WiSo Faculty. The results in Social Sciences underscore that the University of Cologne continues to excel both globally and nationally. In addition to its outstanding position in Sociology, the WiSo Faculty is also ranked among the national top ten in Economics, Business Administration, and Management.
For the calculation of the rankings, four additional indicators were introduced this year in the new category of "World-Class Faculty," compared to the previous year. Since this year, universities are also evaluated based on international awards, "Highly Cited Researchers," roles as editors-in-chief or lead editors of international academic journals, and leadership positions in international academic organisations. The weighting of established and new indicators varies depending on the subject area (see Methodology of the GRAS Ranking).
The results in detail:
- Sociology ranked 1st place nationally and place 51-75 internationally.
- Management ranked 4th place nationally (with Berlin School of Economics & Law, European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Leuphana University Lüneburg, the Universities of Leipzig, Mannheim and Münster and the University of Munich (LMU)), ranked place 201-300 internationally.
- Business Administration ranked 4th place nationally (with Freie Universität Berlin, Technical University of Munich (TUM), University of Bayreuth, University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the Universities of Göttingen and Hamburg), ranked place 201-300 internationally.
- Political Sciences ranked on 9th place nationally (with Humboldt-University Berlin, the TU Munich and the University of Mainz), ranked place 101-150 internationally.
- Economics 6th place nationally (with University of Bielefeld, Freie Universität Berlin, Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Mannheim), ranked place 151-200 internationally.
Top positions in Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Business Administration, and Management highlight that the diversity of the WiSo Faculty is a key driver of its excellent research and teaching performance. Close interdisciplinary collaboration between outstanding researchers and lecturers will therefore remain a vital priority for the future.
