Law and Public Administration

  • Degree
    Master of Laws (LL.M.)
  • Type of study
    Full-time study
  • Standard period of study
    4 semesters with internship
  • Commencement of studies
    Winter semester (1 Oct)
  • Credits (ECTS)
    120
  • Language of instruction
    German
  • Department / Central Institute
    Department of Public Administration

Degree programme

While an increasing number of Management degree programmes with a focus on Public Administration are available, Law degree courses taught from such a perspective are comparatively rare.
Even though the demand for legal specialists in Public Administration issues rises in both Germany and Europe, the market for suitable candidates with the required skill set remains undersupplied.
Seeking to cater to this need, HWR Berlin became the first provider in Germany to offer an applied Master’s degree programme in Law and Public Administration.
The specialist orientation of this degree programme provides its graduates with very good employment prospects in a future-orientated profession with a range of opportunities for specialist and managerial work.
Applications are especially welcome from holders of a Bachelor’s degree in Administration and other administrative or law-related college or university degrees, as well as from holders of a Diplom-Verwaltungswirt qualification.
The Master’s degree aims to enable its holders to apply their legal training to the diverse tasks of public administration.
Graduates can aim for a professional career in higher administrative positions.

Professional field

This degree programme prepares its students for constitutive legal work in public administrations (irrespective of its legal form) in both clerical and management positions.

Degree structure

The degree programme is divided into four semesters, the third of which encompasses a twelve-week work placement in a public authority, a private organisation or company performing public sector administrative tasks, or with a law firm focused on Public Administration Law.

Syllabus
First semester

  • The Preconditions and Instruments of the Application of the Law
  • Enforcement
  • The Hierarchy of Laws
  • Human Resources Management

Second semester

  • Administrative Costs Management
  • e-Government – Between Modernisation and Public Responsiveness
  • The Necessity of Abstract Administrative Decisions
  • The Necessity of Decisions Pertaining to Optimal Action and Organisation Forms

Third semester

  • The Legal Conduct of Public Administration
  • Team Work: Legal Decisions as a Complex Procedure

Fourth semester

  • Final Thesis Colloquium
  • Legally-Relevant Negotiations and Presentations, Court Actions, Mediation
  • Master thesis / oral examination
  • University degree (min. 180 ECTS) in Legal or Administrative Science

Applicants with a degree from an university abroad:

01.05.-15.07.
Students with a Non-German Bachelor degree apply at uni-assist e. V.

Programmakkreditiert durch den Akkreditierungsrat

Fees and grants

  • Tuition fees

    None

  • Semesterfee

    ca. € 300 per semester (incl. local transport semester ticket)

Guidance for prospective students

Student Counselling Services

Application and admission

Lukasz Zaremba
Master’s degree programmes Lichterberg Campus

Academic Director and Student counselling services

Department of Public Administration
Prof. Dr. Dörte Busch
Professor of civil and social law

Foto: Volker Beushausen

Department of Public Administration
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Deinert
Professor of personnel law (labor law, public service law, civil service law)

Important dates and deadlines

01.10. - 08.02.

Vorlesungszeit Wintersemester

23.12. - 04.01.

Vorlesungsfreie Zeit

20.01. - 15.02.

1. Prüfungszeitraum

25.03. - 14.04.

2. Prüfungszeitraum