According to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the three major universities in Berlin and the capital as a location for research are particularly popular among researchers from abroad. In the Humboldt Ranking published in Bonn on Friday, September 1, 2017, Freie Universität Berlin ranked in first place, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in second, and Technische Universität Berlin seventh. The ranking lists the number of scholars and scientists who did research in Germany during the past five years with a grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation along with the institutions they most frequently chose for their research stays.