8 Best Universities in Cologne [2026 Rankings]

Top 8 universities in Cologne ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence. The rankings are determined by analyzing 3.59M citations received by 126K academic publications made by 8 universities from Cologne, the popularity of 341 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

1. University of Cologne

#2 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#11 in Germany

Enrollment: 52,204
Founded: 1388

2. German Sport University Cologne

#16 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#76 in Germany

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Enrollment: 6,000
Founded: 1947

3. Cologne University of Applied Sciences

#18 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#85 in Germany

Enrollment: 27,000
Founded: 1971

4. Cologne Business School

#26 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#153 in Germany

Enrollment: 1,123
Founded: 1993

5. Academy of Media Arts Cologne

#28 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#157 in Germany

Acceptance Rate: 16%
Enrollment: 398
Founded: 1990

6. Academy of Music and Dance in Cologne

#31 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#191 in Germany

Enrollment: 1,568
Founded: 1925

7. Catholic University of Applied Sciences NRW

#38 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#237 in Germany

Enrollment: 4,030
Male:Female: 26:74
Founded: 1971

8. Koln University of Applied Sciences

#44 in North Rhine-Westphalia

#267 in Germany

Enrollment: 4,742
Founded: 1971

Universities near Cologne

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
13	University of the Federal Public Administration	234	Bruhl
13	European University of Applied Sciences	276	Bruhl
24	Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences	104	Sankt Augustin
24	Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences	236	Alfter
25	University of Bonn	7	Bonn
25	College of Philosophy and Theology, St. Augustine	360	Sankt Augustin
27	College of the Sparkassen-financial Group	327	Bonn
30	Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf	32	Dusseldorf
30	University of Applied Sciences Dusseldorf	94	Dusseldorf
32	IST University of Applied Sciences	291	Dusseldorf