CHE ranking: Top scores for Political Science and Geography

For the subject of Political Science, KU students rated the study conditions above average in all areas surveyed in the ranking. In the overall assessment ("General study situation"), the subject received 4.3 out of a possible 5 stars – the average value for all universities in the current ranking is 3.9. As in previous rankings, students mainly appreciated the excellent support provided by teaching staff and the well-structured organization of studies. Those surveyed gave KU lecturers an average of 4.8 stars for good availability and support with questions and problems. The number of participants in courses and access to seminars are also rated as outstanding with 4.6 stars each. The opportunities for individual subject specialization are also rated positively (4.6 stars), which allow students to design their studies according to their interests and professional goals. Compared to the rest of Germany, the KU Political Science degree program is among the best study offers in this field. The Eichstätt degree course also received top marks from its students in the areas of course offerings, study and examination organization and library facilities.

The subject of Geography also scores positively in the current ranking. The overall rating for the subject is 4.4 stars – compared to the national average of 3.9 stars. Survey participants rated the study organization as outstanding (4.6 stars). The field trips, an essential part of the Geography course, achieved a high satisfaction rating of 4.5 stars. These trips not only offer practical learning experiences, but are also excellently organized and ideally prepare students for field-based research activities. Geography students at the KU also appreciate the good support they receive from lecturers and the small seminar sizes. On average, they gave the top rating of 4.9 stars for the number of participants in the courses. Furthermore, the practical orientation of teaching is rated as being very good: The participants in the survey rated the quality of the courses with practical relevance with 4.2 stars. In the category of third-party funding per scientist, geographers at the KU are among the top group of universities.

The CHE ranking, which was introduced more than 25 years ago, is considered the most comprehensive and detailed in the German-speaking world. The ranking examined 36 subjects at 300 higher education institutes and universities. Each subject department is surveyed every three years. According to the CHE, around 120,000 students across Germany were surveyed for the current ranking. The ranking includes students' assessments of the study conditions at their university as well as facts about studying, teaching and research for more than 10,000 degree programs across German universities. The results of the current ranking and the assessments of other subjects from the last two rounds of the survey are published in the ZEIT study guide and online at https://ranking.zeit.de