and 9th in Europe.
The German Center for Higher Education Development Excellence Ranking 2010, which measures academic performance of European graduate programs in biology, chemistry, economics, mathematics, physics, political sciences, and psychology, placed Heidelberg in the European excellence group for biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and psychology.
Measured by the number of top managers in the German economy, Heidelberg University ranked 53rd in 2019.
=== Organisation and length of courses ===
The academic year is divided into two semesters. The winter semester runs from 1 October to 31 March and the summer semester from 1 April to 30 September. Classes are held from mid-October to mid-February and mid-April to mid-July. Students can generally begin their studies either in the winter or the summer semester. However, there are several subjects students can begin only in the winter semester. The standard time required to finish a Bachelor's degree is principally six semesters, and a further four …
