Law Studies for Foreign Graduates — Master of Laws (LLM)

Students may choose from the following areas of law: civil law, public law, criminal law, and basic subjects (such as Roman or German history of law or general political science). The broad spectrum of subjects offers the possibility of various specialisations: commercial and company law, criminology, international commercial law, intangible property rights, public international law, European law or international criminal law, to mention just a few examples. The basic lectures are accompanied by tutorials of school-class size in order to apply the abstract subject matter of the lectures to concrete cases. Here, students learn methods of analysing cases in a juristic manner as well as how to work with the wording of law. In support of and complementary to the specialist lectures, an introductory course on German legal terminology and methods and a variety of courses in key qualifications (such as methods of negotiation and mediation, presentation techniques, legal terminology in German and foreign languages) are provided. The programme takes two semesters to complete. With the support of their supervisor, students create their individual schedule which must comprise a total of 60 credits (C), divided between the required and optional courses according to the module catalogue in the study regulations: 33 C in law lectures and seminars (comprising 6 C in the "German Legal Terminology and Methods" required module, at least 15 C in basic courses, and 12 C in advanced courses) 6 C in the area of professionalisation (key skills such as mediation, negotiation, foreign language courses, German language courses on C level) 21 C for the Master's thesis For admission to the Master's thesis, students must have passed examinations in required and optional modules, achieving at least 24 C: 6 C in the "Introduction to German Legal Terminology and Legal Working Methods" required module at least 15 C in basic and advanced modules. Here, the student must attend courses and pass examinations, choosing at least two out of the four areas of civil law, public law, criminal law, and principles of law (such as history of law, constitutional history, general political science, legal philosophy). The introductory course and the basic lectures should be attended in the first semester; participation in more specialised courses, such as seminars, is recommended for the second semester. The programme ends with a five-month Master's thesis in German. Upon the student's request and mutual agreement between the student and the supervisor, the thesis may be written in another language, provided that the topic is of international interest.