The EUI ranked amongst the best according to the CHE Excellence Ranking 2009
The Department of Political and Social Sciences has distinguished itself for its international character and the optimal results obtained in its research.
The complete results of the survey have been published in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit.
The criteria for the selection by the Center for Higher Education Development are the high numbers of publications and citations, "highly cited books" as research indicators, student mobility, teaching staff mobility, and the number of projects in the Marie Curie research promotion programme of the EU.
CHE ExcellenceRanking defines "stars" rather than ranking positions. It is about detailed analysis rather than general ranking. The results are deliberately not summed to give a total number of points.
The reason is that there is simply no "best" higher education institution, either for a single discipline or all disciplines. The ranking is intended for all students/researchers planning a master or doctoral degree and looking for an institution for their research.