Jurisprudence, State Examination
The law degree should enable students to grasp and apply the law with understanding. For this purpose, they are given the necessary legal knowledge, the European legal, economic and political references of the law as well as its
conveyed philosophical, historical and social basics.
Programme facts
| Degree | State Examination |
|---|---|
| Duration | 9 semesters, 270 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Required German | C1 |
| Study mode | Full-Time, Double Degree |
| Start | Summer semester, winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 31.05, summer semester until 30.11 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €369.50 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →What you study
The training consists of two parts: a university course that concludes with the first legal examination (it is no longer called the state examination because part of the examination is no longer taken at the OLG but at the university), and a two-year practical preparatory service (legal clerkship), at the end of which there is the second state examination in law. Only those who have successfully completed both sections are qualified to be a judge as well as to exercise all other legal professions such as lawyer, judge, public prosecutor, lawyer in administration, business and associations.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
The demand side of the labor market for lawyers is essentially determined by the following three areas of activity:
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- Justice and the administration of justice
- Public administration
- Economy and associations
Justice and administration of justice
The hope of a job in the judiciary (e.g. as a judge) will only come true for very few graduates. Only the best are used here. 80% of lawyers with the second state examination work as lawyers. The number of licensed attorneys has roughly doubled from the early 1990s to the present day, while the need for legal advice has not increased by the same amount.
Lawyers striving to become self-employed should first gain professional experience as employees in a law firm. Here, skills can be acquired that are essential for independence: the deepening of professional and social skills.
But here too - especially in the larger law firms - high demands are now placed on young lawyers, such as distinction exams, knowledge of foreign languages or even a doctorate. In addition, there is increased regional mobility, for example the willingness to work in another federal state or, after a certain training period, abroad.
Public administration
The demand for administrative lawyers is declining in view of the tight public budgets. However, not all positions of administrative lawyers who are going into retirement can be saved, so there will be constant demand in the future, albeit at a low level.
Economy and associations
In addition to traditional legal activities in the judiciary, administration of justice and administration, lawyers have numerous different development opportunities in the economy. However, legal scholars interested in this area should also have a qualification profile that is tailored to the private sector. On the other hand, the qualification as a fully qualified lawyer is not absolutely necessary for a job in the economy. In this context, reference is made to the above-mentioned bachelor's degree programs with legal modules (in Münster e.g. "Economics and Law" or "Politics and Law"), which can open up professional fields in these areas.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €369.50 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | A school certificate that gives access to university in Germany — directly or after a Studienkolleg. |
|---|---|
| Language | German C1 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 31.05, summer semester until 30.11 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2German up to C1 and a certificateDSH or TestDaF has to be passed before you apply.
- 3Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 4Application directly to the university until 30.11Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 5Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 30.11.2026 (47 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.