Master of German Law (LLM) University of Münster

All courses are held in German.

This is a three-semester, postgraduate course at the Faculty of Law of the University of Münster. It aims to familiarise students with the German legal tradition and to give them a basic working knowledge of German law through the study of its principles and their application.

The standard length of the course is three semesters. Within this period, students must successfully complete six modules with a total of 90 ECTS credits.

At the beginning of their studies, students choose an area of law (civil law, criminal law, or public law) as the focus of their studies. The chosen area of law will be reflected in the lectures of the module II, III and IV. The choice will also influence the topic of the Master's thesis and the final oral examination.
During the programme of study, students will be overseen by a tutor, who may be any professor or qualified research assistant at the Faculty of Law.

15 September for the following winter semester
15 March for the following summer semester

Module I (Foundation Module/Basismodul): 16 ECTS credits

• Lecture: Deutsches Recht für ausländische Studierende und Methodik des deutschen Rechts (German Law for International Students and Methodology of German Law) (4 ECTS credits)
• Language course: Juristischer Fachsprachkurs (Legal German) (4 ECTS credits)
• Seminar: Propädeutisches Seminar (Propaedeutics Seminar) (8 ECTS credits)

Modules II, III and IV (Extension Modules/Erweiterungsmodule): 32 ECTS credits
Students choose one of the following areas of law:

• Civil Law
• Public Law
• Criminal Law

Depending on the chosen area, students attend:

Civil law:

• Lecture & tutorial: Grundlinien und Allgemeiner Teil des BGB (Basics and General Part of the German Civil Code) (14 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Allgemeines und Besonderes Schuldrecht (Law of Obligations) (12 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Wahlfach (elective course in Civil Law) (6 ECTS credits)

Public law:

• Lecture & tutorial: Deutsches und Europäisches Verfassungsrecht I (Constitutional Law I: The Political System) (14 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Deutsches und Europäisches Verfassungsrecht II (Constitutional Law II: Fundamental Rights) (10 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Verwaltungsrecht Allgemeiner Teil und Verwaltungsprozessrecht (General Administrative Law and Law of Administrative Court Procedure) (8 ECTS credits)

Criminal Law:

• Lecture & tutorial: Strafrecht I (Criminal Law I) (14 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Strafrecht II (Criminal Law II) (10 ECTS credits)
• Lecture: Strafrecht III (Criminal Law III) (8 ECTS credits)

Module V (Profile Module/Profilmodul): 12 ECTS credits
Students choose one of the following specialisations:

• Business and Economics
• Labour Law and Social Law
• Information, Telecommunication and Media Law
• International Law - European Law - International Private Law
• Legal Practice and Dispute Resolution
• Public Law
• Criminal Law and Criminology
• Tax Law

Depending on the chosen specialisation students attend:

• Two lectures: two Wahlfächer (two elective lectures from the chosen specialisation) (2 x 6 ECTS credits)

Module VI (Completion Module/Abschlussmodul): 30 ECTS credits

• Thesis: Masterarbeit (Master's thesis) (25 ECTS credits)
• Oral examination: Mündliche Prüfung (Final Oral Exam) (5 ECTS credits)

No tuition fees

Students must pay a semester contribution fee of approx. 330 EUR per semester. This includes a "semester ticket" covering public transportation in the greater Münster area as well as all of Germany.

You can find more information here:
https://www.uni-muenster.de/studieninteressierte/en/einschreibung/semesterbeitrag.shtml.

We recommend that students budget at least 1,000 EUR per month to meet personal expenses (accommodation, living, health insurance).

You can find more information here:
https://www.uni-muenster.de/international/en/studierende/general-information/cost-and-funding.html.

Admission requirements for the Master of German Law are:

1. Successful completion of a course of study in law at a foreign university

• with a standard length of at least seven semesters (corresponding to 210 ECTS credits)
  OR
• with a standard length of at least six semesters (corresponding to 180 ECTS credits) and additional 30 ECTS credits resulting from preparatory studies, Master's degree studies or from equivalent accredited courses

2. Sufficient command of the German language (see below)

Applicants must provide proof of their German skills at level C1:

• DSH-2 certificate (or higher)
• TestDaF level 4 in all four skill areas (or higher)
• Deutsches Sprachdiplom (German Language Diploma) of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers, level II (C1 level in all sub-sections)
• Goethe-Zertifikat C2
• UNIcert certificate, level III (or higher)
• TELC C1 Hochschule

15 September for the following winter semester
15 March for the following summer semester

The University of Münster offers its best-performing students a so-called ProTalent scholarship. ProTalent is based on the Deutschlandstipendium programme initiated by the German government in 2011. The University of Münster has participated in this programme from the very beginning and has been awarding scholarships under the name ProTalent to particularly outstanding and socially committed students ever since then. The scholarship programme opens up new perspectives for the scholarship holders, creates scope for in-depth study courses and motivates further top performance. It also facilitates a scholarship culture in which sponsors and recipients are in very close contact and exchange. Scholarship holders receive 300 EUR per month.

As in all popular university cities in Germany, accommodation is in high demand and is not easy to find in Münster – but it’s not impossible either!

Please contact the International Office (Bachelor's and Master's students) or the CERes (doctoral candidates) of the university for advice. Please also note that the University of Münster (like most German public universities) does not have its own student halls of residence.