Top places for human medicine and dentistry in the 2021 CHE ranking

Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) has once again achieved top rankings in the nationwide CHE ranking of 4 May 2021 in both medicine and dentistry.

Top scores during the corona pandemic

With both degree programmes, the private university continues to be one of the best university institutions in Germany and has shown that it has been able to guarantee and even improve its quality standards even during the coronavirus pandemic. The UW/H attaches great importance to enabling its students to continue studying as smoothly as possible during the coronavirus pandemic and to offer the usual quality. The CHE results show that medical and dental education at Witten/Herdecke University is first-class even in times of crisis.

Dentistry: increase in almost all categories

In dentistry in particular, UW/H was able to improve even further compared to the last ranking in 2018. In the majority of categories, the results for dentistry are in the top group of all universities. Particularly noteworthy are student satisfaction with the general study situation (1.9), study organisation (1.8), examinations (2.1), equipment features such as simulation stations/phantom heads (1.9), support during studies (2.0), the range of courses (2.3) and support for studies abroad (2.4). In the last three aspects mentioned, UW/H's results are even significantly better than those of the other universities.

Also in the top group are the ratings for career orientation programmes (1.7), which have traditionally been an essential feature of medical training at the UW/H in order to ensure that graduates enter their careers as smoothly as possible. "We work continuously to offer our students excellent professional training and first-class preparation for their appointment as a dentist. The pleasing results of the current CHE study and the improvements we have been able to achieve here - despite corona - show that this commitment is paying off," says Prof Dr Stefan Zimmer, Head of the School of Dentistry at the UW/H. "One aspect we are not yet satisfied with is the grading of our library services - even though we were able to improve slightly compared to 2018. We will remedy this with the opening of our new building, including a larger library, in autumn 2021 and hopefully improve this score in the next ranking."

Medicine: still above the national average

The results of the survey of UW/H students in medicine are also in the top group nationwide in most areas. In key criteria such as the general study situation (1.7), the organisation of studies (1.7), the range of courses (1.9) and the facilities (1.7), medicine at Witten is ahead of the rest of Germany. As far as student support is concerned, the UW/H is ranked top several times: Support from lecturers (1.9), support during studies (1.7), support for studies abroad (2.0) and career guidance programmes (1.5) all stand out extremely positively in the survey.

"It is important to us to prepare our students for professional life at an early stage and to teach them how doctors work. Clinical and practical blocks are therefore an integral part of the curriculum from the first semester onwards. We also use the method of problem-based learning, in which students discuss real cases of illness in small groups," says Prof Dr Stefan Wirth, Dean of the Faculty of Health. In the CHE categories of pre-clinical-clinical integration (1.3), support in patient teaching (1.6) and scientific relevance (2.2), the medicine degree programme at the UW/H was ranked first in Germany. The faculty was even able to improve further in the latter area. "The learning effect is promoted by the interlinking of theory and practice. We are pleased that we have been able to make this possible for students in a satisfactory way, even during the coronavirus pandemic," summarises Prof Dr Wirth.

The CHE ranking is carried out every three years for human medicine and dentistry. It compares university faculties of medicine and dentistry across Germany.