Of all German universities, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is top in engineering (place 61 worldwide) and natural sciences (place 51 worldwide). In the subjects of mechanical engineering and materials sciences, it is among the best in Europe. In the overall international ranking, KIT has moved upwards by 32 places and now assumes position 185 of the 500 best universities in the world. The “2013 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities” measures research performance of universities based on scientific publications.
These results confirm the upward trend of KIT in previous years. As in 2012, KIT ranks in first place of all German universities in engineering (place 61 worldwide) ahead of RWTH Aachen (place 89 worldwide), TU München (place 94 worldwide), and TU Dresden (place 108 worldwide). In natural sciences, KIT (position 51 worldwide) is followed by LMU München (place 62 worldwide), Universität Heidelberg (place 72 worldwide), and TU München (place 81 worldwide). In the group of European universities, KIT reaches the tenth place in both subjects.
KIT also assumes top positions in a number of individual subjects with a total of five first places in Germany: In mechanical engineering, KIT is the best German university and ranks in third position in Europe (place 17 worldwide). In materials sciences, KIT reaches position 5 in Europe (place 37 worldwide). In addition, KIT is in the top group of German universities in physics (place 45 worldwide), chemical engineering (place 50 worldwide), and civil engineering (place 120 worldwide). In Germany, KIT is also rated top in chemistry, geosciences (place 2 each), electrical engineering (place 3), and informatics and environment/ecology (place 5 each).
In the overall ranking, KIT has moved upwards by four places in Germany and now ranks in 14th position. Worldwide, it has gained 32 places and now reaches place 185, i.e. it is in the top 200 of the best 500 universities in the world. The overall ranking results from the total of publications in all subjects. Due to its focus on natural sciences and engineering, not all subjects evaluated are represented at KIT, e.g. medicine.
Background
The “Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities” is the successor of the “Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan” (HEEACT) ranking that has been published annually since 2007. This new performance ranking has been issued by the National Taiwan University for departments and subjects since 2011. It considers universities and is based exclusively on the analysis of scientific publications. Evaluation of publications and citations does not only cover the past year, but considers a period of up to eleven years. The basis are publication data of the Web of Science (WoS) and Essential Science Indicators (ESI) (both Thomson Reuters).
More information: http://NTUranking.lis.ntu.edu.tw
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.