The Hertie School performed particularly well in research impact and international collaboration.
The Hertie School has once again been recognised among Germany’s leading universities in the 2025 Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, achieving outstanding results in research impact and international collaboration across its core disciplines of public administration and political science.
In this year’s ranking, the Hertie School is top ranked in Germany across these areas, placing second nationally for research impact in public administration and second for international collaboration in both public administration and political science. These results highlight the school’s growing reputation as a global hub for governance and policy research.
Only very few institutions in Germany made it into the rankings, with the Hertie School being among only five German universities on the list under public administration and 20 under political science.
“These rankings are a testament to the remarkable work of our faculty and researchers,” said Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School. “They show that our scholarship not only advances knowledge but does so through meaningful international collaboration and with real impact on public policy debates.”
Excellence in research impact
The research impact category recognises how widely a university’s academic work influences its field – through citations, interdisciplinary reach and relevance to real-world policy and societal challenges. Hertie’s strong showing in this area underscores its commitment to producing research that bridges academic insight and practical policymaking.
Global leadership in international collaboration
The international collaboration category measures how actively universities engage in co-authored publications and cross-border research partnerships. Hertie’s second-place ranking in both Political Science and Public Administration reflects its extensive cooperation with leading universities and policy institutes across Europe, North America and beyond.
About the ranking
The Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), published annually by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, evaluates more than 5,000 universities worldwide across 55 subject areas. The ranking assesses universities based on research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality, and academic awards. Results in each subject are derived from data sources such as the Web of Science and InCites, providing a globally comparable measure of academic performance.
These 2025 results reaffirm the Hertie School’s dedication to academic excellence, global engagement and policy relevance, further strengthening its position as one of Europe’s leading institutions for governance, public policy and political science.
Learn more about the Hertie School’s research and study programmes.
Contact
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Susann Park-Gessner, Director Quality Management and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion