Best Universities for Industrial Engineering in Germany 2024
Germany and Industrial Engineering
Germany’s globally recognized engineering achievements and its leading position in industrial production are of course directly proportional to the efficiency and quality of its production processes. In this context, industrial engineering emerges as one of the basic engineering requirements of production. Especially today, when the 5th industrial revolution is being discussed, it should not be considered a prophecy to say that specializations in this field will become even more prominent.
In Germany, industrial engineering is positioned as an interdisciplinary branch of engineering, as it should be. Industrial engineers focus on bridging the gap between courses in business, economics, computer science, operations research and engineering disciplines with experts in all these disciplines, improving production processes, increasing productivity and business profits.
This training will open up career opportunities for you as a specialist and manager in project and production management, human resources and IT or marketing and logistics, in industry, the service sector and public administration, wherever economic and technical issues come together.
In Germany, especially since the manufacturing industry is spread all over the country, the cooperation of universities, especially in the field of engineering, is very close and is the most important factor in bringing the quality of education to the top. Therefore, as I always say: There are no bad engineering schools in Germany. Likewise, a bad engineer has no chance of graduating. The Technical Universities (RWTH, Munich, Berlin, Darmstadt, Dresden, etc.), some of which are legendary, and the schools (Stuttgart, KIT, Braunschweig, Dortmund, etc.), some of which are old and some of which are relatively new but have proven their quality all over the world, are all producing excellent engineers.
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Since the rankings of the “University rating agencies”, which you can access with a short search on the internet, focus on the intensity of academic outputs, the rankings are especially important in terms of PhD and maybe a little master’s education. (I think if you are going to do more PhD, look at these lists)
It does not help undergraduate or graduate students if schools have elite professors who “do a lot of research, publish a lot in academic journals, but don’t attend classes”. The right people to measure the quality of education are the employers who employ engineers after graduation.
For this reason, I think that surveys of human resources managers of large employers in Germany give a more realistic picture of the rankings. These statistics are published every year (Wirtschaftswoche).
Here is the 2024 list of the most preferred universities by German employers in Industrial Engineering:
RWTH ranks first
RWTH is especially known for mechanical and electrical engineering, but in recent years it has become more known for industrial engineering. RWTH is a great engineering school, but it is also famous for challenging students. Although you all dream of graduating from such a school, it is also my duty to say that many students give up at the beginning of the road. You can access my previous articles about Aachen here.
The Technical University Berlin retains its 2nd place from last year.
If you search for TU Berlin, you will find many negative articles. When it comes to engineering, students often misperceive TU Munich, RWTH or KIT. A common misconception is that TU Berlin is located in the capital and is far away from industry. You can understand why this is a mistake by looking at the tables. Especially Berlin, which is a software hub, is the first choice for those aiming for IT careers and analysts in industrial engineering. Graduates of TU Berlin are ranked in the top three by German employers in almost every discipline. Industrial engineering is no exception. I think it is a bit absurd to say that such a popular school provides bad education. You can also read my article about being a student in Berlin.
The University of Karlsruhe (KIT) is, as usual, one of the leaders.
One of Germany’s best-known technical schools. In other words, one of the schools that cemented Germany’s international reputation in engineering. It is known all over the world as a highly respected technical school. Home to Europe’s largest research institute, it is very popular with both German and foreign students. German employers also confirm this. The only disadvantage for foreign students is that the school is located in the state of Baden Württemberg. The school charges foreign students 1500 Euros per semester. You can find my article about Student Life in Karlsruhe here.
TU Darmstadt is one of Germany’s most respected and well-established engineering schools, and this is recognized by employers.
Located 20 minutes from Frankfurt, this school is particularly well known for its highly successful engineering degrees. This school is ranked 4th in terms of industrial engineering by German employers, especially for its proximity to “Frankfurt”, the financial capital of Germany, and for its extension in the fields of business administration and project management. For more details, please see my articles about the city and the school.
In addition to universities in Germany, I have already mentioned the so-called “Universities of Applied Sciences” (Fachhochschule), whose curricula are more focused on practice. Those who have not read my articles “What is a Fachhochschule?” and “University or Technical University or Fachhochschule?” can read them. Since these schools maintain close cooperation with industrial organizations and business circles during their education, their graduates are more preferred than some university graduates.
2024 list of the most preferred Fachhochschule in industrial engineering by German employers
When you look at the list given above, you will notice that the Fachhochschules in the cities where the universities in the top 10 in the first table are located are on the list. The main reason for this is that universities in Germany are in very close cooperation with the industry and the real sector, and in the same way, Fachhochschules are shaped in line with the needs of the industry and the real sector in the region.
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