University rankings use different criteria to enable comparisons between universities around the world. These include indicators such as the reputation of a University, its research output and the quality of its teaching as well as the number of publications produced by its academics and the frequency with which they are cited. Academic systems vary greatly from country to country, making it very difficult to compare certain key data. As such, the results of rankings should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, many rankings have a major impact and influence the image and attractiveness of a university as well as students’ decisions about where to study.
Strategic Research Planning critically monitors the development of various rankings, coordinates participation in the most important national and international rankings (various THE rankings, QS rankings, RUR ranking, and many others), and regularly evaluates TU Berlin’s performance, such as in German Research Foundation’s Funding Atlas.