A total of 790 young universities younger than 50 took part in this year's ranking—a year-on-year increase of nearly 70 percent. The University of Passau is ranked 44th in this increasingly contested field and thus third in Germany. In Bavaria, the University of Passau remains in first place, ahead of the University of Bayreuth, which took 58th place in the overall ranking. Among other things, this ranking evaluates achievements in research, teaching and knowledge transfer, with citations and internationality also playing a role.
"This strong result clearly expresses that the top-notch work being done here, especially at our younger universities, is receiving international recognition. Through their clear-cut concepts, those in charge are creating the very best study conditions and turning their still young universities into real places for the future. I sincerely congratulate all those involved in Bayreuth and in Passau, my former university town", said Science Minister Bernd Sibler in a statement released by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.
"We see ourselves as a cosmopolitan, innovative young university with a strong profile in research and teaching. And we see this self-image confirmed by the excellent placement in the worldwide Young University Ranking", said Professor Ulrich Bartosch, President of the University of Passau. "Currently, young people from over 100 nations are studying in Passau. Around 15 percent of our students have an international background. For our university as a place of discourse, this is an immense enrichment. After the pandemic, we want to continue to build on this, and I think we're well on track with our new, forward-looking degree programmes such as the M.Sc. AI Engineering and M.A. Communication in Digital Societies and many other attractive programmes."
The Young University Ranking is based on the same 13 performance indicators as the "age-independent" THE World University Ranking, which is open to all universities worldwide. However, the weightings of these indicators are slightly adjusted to reflect the performance characteristics of younger universities more closely. This year, universities founded between 1972 and 2021 were eligible to participate. The top three positions in 2022 go to Université Paris PSL, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology respectively.