The Ruhr-Universität is on its way to becoming one of the leading European universities of the 21st Century. Almost all courses are offered as Bachelor and Master degrees that enable “learning through research”.
June 1971: Opening of the Botanical Gardens (today one of the ten largest in Germany)
June 1965: Ceremonial opening of the university/November: start of teaching
July 1961: Decision of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia: Bochum chosen as the site for the first new university in the Federal Republic of Germany
Education
Located in the midst of the dynamic, hospitable metropolitan area of the Ruhr, in the heart of Europe, the Ruhr-Universität with its 20 faculties is home to 5,000 employees and over 33,000 students from 130 countries. All the great scientific disciplines are united on one compact campus. In a few minutes you can walk from philosophy to biology, from astronomy to civil engineering or medicine. The main lecture hall, the cafeteria and the university library are all just a stone's throw away.
Research
Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is one of Germany’s leading research universities with a growing international reputation. Its institutional strategy “Research Campus RUB” (RCR), which made it to the final selection round of the Excellence Initiative in 2007 and has been fully implemented since then, further develops RUB’s unique meritocratic academic culture by merging cutting-edge research with advanced, research-oriented study and teaching.RUB draws its academic strength from its can-do attitude and the diversity of academic disciplines on its campus. Research Campus RUB was designed specifically to encourage collaboration and to enable students and researchers to interact more effectively.
Career
There's life after uni! And RUB graduates do not have to enter it unaided: they have a competent team of advisors to support them. The Career Service facilitates the start of your career with information, advisory, and qualification services, and helps contacting potential employers.One click is enough to browse around this comprehensive range of services: for example, on the website there are internship and job positions listed and there is information material to download. Additionally, the Career Point, located in the Business Studies Faculty Library, is open to students of all subjects from Mondays to Saturdays.
Ruhr University BochumKey Statistics & Highlights
#301Ranking
3 Courses
772Academic Staff
38,893Students
534Students (int'l)
19,447Students (female)
Public Institution Type
Ruhr University BochumOverview
Ruhr University BochumRankings
Study Portals Meta Ranking
Top 4.3%Germany
Top 4.2%Worldwide
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
301
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Dropped 100 places compared to 2025
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend Academic Ranking of World Universities
2024
2025
2026
201
201
301
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Best Global Universities Rankings
364
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 5 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
3 year trend Best Global Universities Rankings
2025
2026
2027
389
369
364
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
QS World University Rankings
402
By TopUniversities
Dropped 7 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend QS World University Rankings
2025
2026
2027
396
395
402
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
World University Rankings
No 2027 Ranking
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
3 year trend World University Rankings
2025
2026
2027
301
251
-
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Twenty Faculties, Central Academic Institutes and Affiliated Institutes, Research Departments, special research areas and groups of young academics: numerous Academic Facilities sharpen the RUBs research and teaching profile.
Administrative Departments and Offices
Headed by the Chancellor, the administration of the RUB is divided into seven Administrative Departments and the Legal Department.
Service Facilities
So that the students and researchers of the RUB are able to concentrate fully on their work and the best possible conditions are provided, the university offers a comprehensive range of services for members and outsiders.
Housing services
House of Nations
This house is equipped with 39 non-smoking accommodation units.International Guest HouseThis house is equipped with 15 non-smoking accommodation units.
Kubus
The KUBUS now has a total area of 1200sqm on four floors and is used as an art exhibition space and space for cultural and scientific events; furthermore, it includes office space, storage space with a frame- and restaurating workshop, a small bistro, as well as three modern non-smoking apartments for guest researchers of RUB.
Uni-Forum
This house is equipped with 19 non-smoking accommodation units with shower/toilet, some with balcony or terrace.
One-family Terraced House Overberg Strasse
Library services
Aim – a seamless library system
The future design of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum's (RUB) library system is consistently oriented towards the mission statement “universitas”.Strategy – oriented around the needs of the peopleImplementation – continuous developmentThe range of media available in the libraries is to be continuously expanded
Medical services
The University hospitals of the Ruhr University of Bochum, German Universitätsklinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, abbreviated UK RUB is a syndicate of six university hospitals and associated facilities of the Ruhr University of Bochum. Founded in 2008 by the merger of formally independent hospitals the UK RUB is now a major provider of health in the Ruhr Metropolitan Region.
Campus life
The RUB is much more than a place of learning, teaching and research. It is located in the heart of an exciting region which, is one of Europes largest urban centres. Nevertheless, it is surrounded by greenery: directly to the south of the RUB, the Ruhr Valley opens up with its popular recreational destination around the Kemnader lake. If you like to be active in your spare time, the universitys range of sports has just the right thing for every taste, or you can join a theatre group or the university orchestra, learn photography or painting. Spectators also get their moneys worth: there are regular performances on campus, concerts by the Bochum Symphony Orchestra and organ recitals.
Sports facilities
Track & Field court and athletic facilities Markstraße
Athletic facilities at the campus (CaSpo)
Boathouse Kemnade
Swimming bath of the university
Elburg (Netherlands)
Valmorel (France)
Further facilities
Student clubs
As a campus university, the RUB provides ideal conditions for getting involved and help to shape university culture and politics. Anyone who would like to represent student interests can, for example, stand for the student parliament, join a faculty council, or one of the numerous other bodies. In addition, active students are always being sought for the on-campus student radio, the university cinema, or the cultural office boSKop who are interested in the cultural life at the RUB. Involvement pays, and not only personally, because there is also the opportunity to gather a lot of useful experience with a view to one’s own professional future while still at the university.
I have been studying M.A. in Linguistic Data Science at Ruhr-Universit�t Bochum for two years now, and overall it has been a good experience.
The teaching quality is strong � professors are knowledgeable and the courses are well-structured. RUB also offers great research opportunities, which is something I really value as a Master's student. The campus itself is large and has good facilities, making it a comfortable place to study.
One area that could be improved is support for international students. Navigating university life in a new country can be challenging, and better guidance in this area would make a big difference. That said, this is a minor point compared to the many positives.
Overall, I would recommend RUB to anyone looking for a research-focused university with a strong academic environment.
Posted byAnonymous
Studied fromUnknown
Posted onAug 2026
4/5
Huge possibilities
I finished my master's degree as wll as my PhD at the RUB. I can only share my experience pursuant to the faculty of Chemistry, but overall it was a pleasure to study there. Beside the lectures, there are lot of offers for students as well as speciallized workshops for the PhD program. Nevertheless, it would have been beneficial to have a little bit more of online content, especially for the lectures since I had a long way to travel to the RUB.
Posted byAnonymous
Studied fromUnknown
Posted onAug 2026
4/5
Overall good
I like the university and the facilities they have. The course is relatively new and since it is in English the courses you can take are a bit limited. Also the course is a bit of everything so you should decide on the direction of it yourself.