The partners in the Berlin University Alliance achieved very good results in the 2017–2018 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, both in an international as well as a national comparison. According to the new THE Ranking, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin placed at rank 62, Freie Universität Berlin at rank 88, and Technische Universität at rank 92. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the medical school operated jointly by Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, was ranked at 126 worldwide.

In a national comparison the universities in Berlin also performed very well. In this THE Ranking, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is ranked fourth in Germany, Freie Universität Berlin seventh, Technische Universität eighth, and Charité 13th.

The Times Higher Education ranking is partly based on a global survey among researchers with regard to reputation, research, teaching, international orientation, citation frequency of publications, and statistical indicators. Key figures from 1,102 universities worldwide were included in the ranking list, which means about 120 more universities were considered than in the comparable ranking in 2016.