CIEL Program

You are recommended to go abroad in your third semester. Usually, you write your master's thesis in your fourth semester. However, when participating in the CIEL program, you are already expected to lay the groundwork for your master’s thesis during your period of study abroad. In practical terms this means, that you already choose a subject area in which you would like to write your master's thesis in the semester that precedes your period of study abroad.

A bachelor's degree or comparable qualification and enrollment in one of the programs that award graduates an LL.M. degree, i.e. the Master of Laws program or the master’s program in Competition Law and Regulation, are prerequisites for participating in the CIEL program. For graduates holding a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mannheim, it is sufficient if they have been conditionally admitted to the respective master’s program at the time they apply for the CIEL program.

The CIEL program is part of the ERASMUS program. You must therefore apply for the ERASMUS program and point out in your application, that you want to take part in the CIEL program. In general, you must apply by 31 January if you want to go abroad the next academic year. Please see the International Office’s website or the notices around campus for more information on the application deadlines. Please note, that proof of language proficiency in English (IELTS with 6.5 points, TOEFL with 90 points, or an equivalent language test) is required if you want to apply for the CIEL program.

Students pursuing an LL.M. degree, who are planning to go abroad, do not need to apply for an academic leave of absence. The credits they obtain abroad will be recognized for the modules “Internationale Wahlmodule und Schlüsselqualifikationen” (international elective modules and key competences).

To obtain the CIEL certificate, you must

• study at one of our CIEL partner universities for at least one semester and attend and pass law courses worth 30 ECTS credits in total,
• complete the entire CIEL program (i.e., the courses you take during your period of study abroad and your master’s thesis) in the course of one academic year,
• write your master's thesis under additional supervision of a professor at the partner university (usually, this means that your master's thesis must be written in English), and
• be awarded your LL.M. degree by the University of Mannheim after successful completion of your studies.