Master of German Law (LLM) University of Münster

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 foundational 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.

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 only 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 only 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)

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)

We do not charge tuition fees. However, students must pay a semester contribution fee of approx. 355 EUR per semester. This includes various services for students as well as a "semester ticket" covering public transportation in Münster and all of Germany.

You can find more information here.

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.

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 of 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.

With a comprehensive range of seminars, information and advice, the Careers Service of the University of Münster helps students, doctoral candidates and graduates to develop a sustainable professional profile, to gather and reflect on practical experience, to initiate contacts with employers and, finally, to learn application strategies and techniques.

As in all popular university cities in Germany, accommodation is in high demand and not easy to find in Münster – but it's not impossible either! Like most German universities, we do not have our own student halls of residence. However, the "Studierendenwerk", a governmental organisation, offers student halls in Münster. You can find additional information on housing options here and here (only in German).

When contacting about private offers, be careful! Please make sure that you never transfer money before you sign the rental contract. Ideally, you should be able to talk personally to the potential landlord, even if you are still abroad (via phone, video call, etc.) If you are not sure whether an offer is real or possibly a fraud, please feel free to contact the team of our International Office and send us the offer.