The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, resp. "Shanghai Ranking") is a global university ranking that has been released since 2003 and is published by the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. Since 2009, the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy has published the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS).

In the current Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025 the University of Cologne is ranked place 6-11 nationally and place 151-200 internationally.

Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS)

Approximately 2.000 universities are ranked in five different disciplines and in 57 subjects. Depending on the subject, between 200 and 500 universities are ranked each year.

Current results GRAS Ranking 2025:

• "Sociology" ranked 2^nd - 4^th place nationally and place 101 - 150 internationally
• "Economics" ranked 6^th - 10^th place nationally and place 151 - 200 internationally
• "Business Administration" ranked 8^th - 11^th place nationally and place 301 - 400 internationally
• "Management" ranked 8^th - 21^th place nationally and place 301 - 400 internationally
• "Political Sciences" ranked on 10^th - 11^th place nationally and place 151 - 200 internationally

Indicators and weighting

The GRAS uses five to nine indicators, depending on the subject, in five different categories (see here). It measures and compares research output (Q1), the scope of the research, mapped by citations (CNCI), international cooperations (IC) and research quality, measured as the number of publications in TOP journals (TJ) and the prestige of researchers (TOP awards). The new category for world class Faculty introduced in 2024 will be measured in terms of award winners (laureates), the list of highly cited researchers (HRC), editor positions (editor), and leadership positions in international organizations (leadership).

More information on the Website of the: Academic Ranking of World Universities