Research can develop sustainable solutions to global problems when different disciplines contribute their knowledge and perspectives. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is particularly successful in this regard, as shown by the Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Ranking. TUM ranks 13th worldwide as the best German and second-best European university.
Interdisciplinarity at TUM is a mindset rooted in autonomy, curiosity and agility, emphasize the British magazine Times Higher Education and the US research promoter Schmidt Science Fellows in their white paper “Interdisciplinary Futures,” in which they analyze the ranking. Collaboration arises in TUM's research culture through flexible funding, shared facilities and recognition systems.
TUM has a range of subjects that is unique in the European Union, covering engineering, computer science, natural sciences, life sciences, medicine, economics and social sciences – and it makes intensive use of this potential. THE and Schmidt Science Fellows particularly highlight the TUM Innovation Networks, in which interdisciplinary teams can come together with their own initiatives for new research questions, cross-disciplinary institutes such as the Center for Organoid Systems and the integration of the social sciences.
THE and Schmidt Science Fellows also emphasize the intensive collaboration with partners, particularly with companies based on campus such as SAP and Siemens, as well as with society, politics and administration, for example in the TUM Think Tank and the Munich Cluster for the Future of Mobility in Metropolitan Regions (MCube).
TUM also teaches its students to think outside the box through project weeks, plug-in modules and numerous student clubs, in which members from different disciplines pursue research projects together.
“We must optimize the scientific system”
“At TUM, we demonstrate that with the right mindset and effective incentives, intensive collaboration across disciplinary boundaries can flourish. Now we must also optimize the structures of the scientific system in favor of interdisciplinarity,” urges Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann, President of TUM. “Research funding and evaluation are still too focused on narrowly defined disciplines. As a result, Germany and Europe are wasting a lot of potential.”
The Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, which covers engineering, natural sciences, life sciences and computer sciences, incorporates numerous indicators. These include the number and quality of interdisciplinary publications as well as the amount of third-party funding raised for such projects. The ranking also looks at whether universities have created facilities for interdisciplinary research teams and take multidisciplinary collaboration into account when promoting researchers. In addition, scientists are asked to rate the support for interdisciplinary teams at their universities.
Further information and links
- Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Ranking 2026
- Interdisciplinary Futures: Global Approaches and Insights from the ISR 2026 (including a case study about TUM)
- TUM in rankings
- Research at TUM
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
- Klaus Becker
- klaus.becker@tum.de
- presse@tum.de
- Teamwebsite
Original article: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/tum-ranked-13th-worldwide-for-interdisciplinary-research