Berlin

QS Best Student Cities ranking: 5^th

Germany has been growing steadily in popularity as a study abroad destination, and its capital city is also growing in popularity, up two places this year in the QS Best Student Cities ranking and earning its (rightful) place in the top five!

Having flourished into one of the world’s coolest urban hubs – a major center of design, fashion, music and art to rival even New York or London – Berlin offers both unbeatable culture and a hot financial market, making it as perfect for history buffs and art aficionados as it is for budding financiers.

To sweeten the deal even further, all undergraduate degrees (and some postgraduate programs) are free at public universities in Germany, even for international students.

While the German capital is not an academic hub on the scale of cities like London, Paris or Boston, three universities in Berlin feature in the QS World University Rankings® 2020. The highest-ranked of these is Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin at 120^th in the world, closely followed by Freie Universität Berlin at joint 130^th.

Berlin’s growing appeal as an international study destination is also due in part to a greater provision of courses in English, particularly at postgraduate level. With a high quality of living, affordable costs, a liberal atmosphere and a happening party and music scene, the German capital has a huge amount to offer international students of all backgrounds and interests. As if to prove this, Berlin has moved up four places this year in the student view indicator to fourth place.  

Is Berlin your ideal student city? Tell us why.

Internationally ranked universities in Berlin

More about Berlin

To find out how each of the above categories is calculated, view the methodology.