Graduate study programme for law students who graduated abroad – LLM

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This postgraduate program is open for applicants who studied law and graduated outside of German.

The program aims to impart core elements of German civil law, public law and criminal law as well as the working method and problem solution in legal science. Courses cover theory and implementation, methodology for solving of cases and legal interpretation as well as recent developments in German law. Students can choose from the wide range of courses at the Department of Law, including basic lectures and courses in focus areas for advanced students in certain fields of law.

Overview

Degree LLM
Programme start Winter semester & Summer semester
Period of study 3 semesters
Application period 9.5. - 15.7. | 29.11. - 15.1.
Admission restrictions no

Why study Graduate study programme for law students who graduated abroad in the University of Konstanz?

The postgraduate course is aimed specifically at graduates of law abroad. The aim of the course is to impart basic knowledge of German civil law, public law and criminal law as well as of working methods and problem solving in law. The course offers a good basis for working abroad in law firms or companies related to Germany.
The core areas of competence of the Department of Law at the University of Constance are internationality and business law. Several chairs focus on European and international law. The department maintains a variety of international contacts, exchange relationships and cooperations. In addition to the research orientation of many professorships, the international orientation of the department is reflected in intensive contacts and joint activities with universities within the ERASMUS region and above all in China, Japan, South Korea and Colombia. Through the Rotterdam Law Network, which is also very important for international visibility, the department is closely linked to over 30 European law faculties and builds its ERASMUS programme on this. In addition to internationalisation, commercial law is the second cornerstone of the department. All major areas of law - civil law, public law and criminal law - are involved in commercial law research.

Content

Prospects and opportunities

Career prospects

The program qualifies to work in a law firm or company with connections to Germany in your home country. Typical career prospects include work in the commercial sector (e.g. in industry, trade and commerce, banks, insurance companies, associations.

Programme structure

Programme start

Winter semester & Summer semester

Academic structure

The standard period of study spans over three semesters, including the Master’s examination. In the first two semesters you take courses cumulating at least 20 weekly semester hours, which should be spread equally between both semesters. One weekly semester hour equals 45 minutes. The course catalogue lists the amount of weekly semester hours for every course (abbreviated with “st”). This course (Contract Law I) encompasses 4 weekly semester hours (4st). The number of 12p (12 ECTS credits) is not relevant for the LL.M. program. It is required to take one basic lecture in Civil Law as well as one basic lecture in Public Law, which each encompass 4 weekly semester hours. The remaining 12 weekly semester hours can be chosen freely. From the special courses for international students (in the course catalogue under “J”), only 2 weekly semester hours can be credited. Equivalent courses which you already passed during your Erasmus studies at the University of Konstanz can be credited. If you passed courses encompassing 20 weekly semester hours including the required basic lectures during this time, you can apply for admission to the master’s examination directly at the beginning of your studies.

Master’s Examination

In the course of your studies (generally during the second semester), you look for a supervisor among the professors of the Department of Law, who will help you to find a suitable topic for your master’s thesis. We will help you to find a supervisor whose research focus meets your interests. At the end of the lecture period of the second semester, you apply for admission to the master’s examination along with the proof of attended courses to the extent of 20 weekly semester hours, the name of your supervisor and the topic of your thesis. The master’s examination consists of a master’s thesis with a research time of 3 months and an oral examination of 30 minutes.


Please check the Exam regulations (partly in German) for more information about the programme structure.

Internship and study abroad

Internships

An internship is not planned in the Master's programme.

Study abroad

A stay abroad is not planned in the Master's programme.

Requirements

What interests and skills should I have?

  • You enjoy working with complex texts
  • Very good verbal skills
  • Logical and abstract way of thinking
  • Structured working methods
  • You are interested in current affairs

Language skills

No further foreign language skills are required.

German language skills
International applicants need documentation of their German language skills. The following certificates are accepted:

  • DSH (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang) Level 2
  • TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) with level 4 in all four parts
  • telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule
  • Goethe-Zertifikat C1

If you already studied at the University of Konstanz as an Erasmus student, you can be exempt from this requirement, if you successfully passed exams of law courses in German during this time. The degree certificate and language certificate have to be presented in their original form or as certified copies.

Language(s) of instruction

The language of instruction is German.

Admission requirements

  • Admission to the program requires a law degree acquired at a university outside of Germany, which is comparable to the German legal studies in its type and duration. In general, a four year bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree which encompasses civil law, public law and criminal law and a comparable amount of legal courses will fulfill this requirement.
  • International applicants  need documentation of their German language skills, level DSH-2, TestDaF 4 , telc or Goethe-Zertifikat C1, or a language test recognised as equivalent.

For details, please see the examination regulations.

Fees

Semester fee

All students enrolled at the University of Konstanz are charged a semester fee each semester, similar to all other German universities. Here you can find the current semester fee and its individual components.

Tuition fees for the graduate programme
If you are enrolled in the graduate programme in law LL.M., you must pay a special tuition fee of 500 euro per semester. The amount of fees due is determined during the enrolment procedure and applies to the entire length of study. The special tution fee is in addition to the other required fees.

Each year, the University of Konstanz grants exemptions to a limited number of particularly gifted international degree-seeking students in accordance with the university’s “Begabtenbefreiungssatzung” (statutes governing the exemption of gifted students). You can find more detailed information here.

Application and application documents

This study programme has admission restrictions.

An application is possible during the following period: 9.5. - 15.7. (winter semester) and 29.11. - 15.1. (summer semester). There may be other deadlines if you are applying for admission to a higher semester (for instance, if you are changing subjects or universities). For more information please consult the university website.

Application documents


  • Documentation of your academic degree including details on course work. If you have not received your degree certificate by the end of the application deadline, please attach documentation of all your examination results so far;
  • Current certificate of enrolment or proof of exmatriculation (if you have studied at a German university, please indicate your 'Fachsemester’ and ‘Hochschulsemester’).

International applicants:

  • If your documents are not available in German or English, you will need to have them translated. Please submit a German or English translation of your documents along with the original versions.
  • Documentation of German language skills, level DSH-2 or TestDaF 4, or a language test recognised as equivalent;
  • Applicants from China, India and Vietnam: APS certificate issued by the German Embassy of your home country
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