Rankings
On the national level, two prominent German newspapers, “Handelsblatt“ and “Wirtschaftswoche“, currently rank RWTH Aachen the first place in Germany in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science. In the latest ranking published by DAAD together with Centre for Higher Education Development and Die Zeit, RWTH Aachen also stands on top among other German universities in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 140th in the world. Its global subject rankings were: 35th in Engineering & IT, 330th in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, and 82nd in Natural Sciences.
| Ranking | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THES-QS Rankings (2003–2009) QS Rankings (2010-) (Engineering & Technology) | 30 | 35 | 39 | 57 | 70 | 83 | 39 | 28 | 38 | |
| THES-QS Rankings (2003–2009) QS Rankings (2010-) (Natural Sciences) | 83 | 82 | 59 | 136 | 151 | 147 | 81 | 86 | - | |
| Research Performance Index (Engineering) | - | - | 96 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Research Performance Index (For Pure, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences) | - | - | 79 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Academic Ranking of World Universities (Mathematics) | 76-100 | - | 77-100 | 76-101 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| THES-QS Rankings (2003–2009) QS World University Rankings (2010-) (World) | 150 | 140 | 158 | 182 | 216 | 182 | 172 | 172 | 184 | |
| The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (World) | 154 | 168 | 182 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Academic Ranking of World Universities (World) | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-302 | 201-302 | 203-304 | 201-300 | 203-300 | 201-300 |
Thanks to its status in science and engineering in Europe, RWTH Aachen is sometimes referred to as the "MIT of Europe", linking its status to that of the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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