University of Mannheim – Master of Comparative Business Law (M.C.B.L.)
The University's profile is shaped by its unique blend of renowned Economic and Social Sciences that are linked to excellent Humanities, Law, Mathematics and Informatics in a number of interdisciplinary programs and research projects. The schools and research institutions of the University closely collaborate with numerous national and international partners such as the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) or the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). In Economic and Social Sciences, the University of Mannheim has been ranking among the top 20 research institutions in Europe for many years.
Master of Comparative Business Law (M.C.B.L.)
The programme Master of Comparative Business Law (M.C.B.L.) is an advanced academic programme providing an in depth understanding of business law aspects of the Single European and the Global Market. The M.C.B.L. offers a wide range of lectures that are taught by both law professors from the University of Mannheim and Adelaide and lawyers, judges and managers. The programme is a high-level demanding postgraduate programme in the field of European and international business law. It is designed for law graduates, or graduates with a sufficient background in law, who wish to pursue advanced studies to specialize in the area of business law with a comparative perspective. The Master of Comparative Business Law (M.C.B.L.) is a postgraduate degree offered in cooperation with the University of Adelaide (South Australia). The programme starts each September in Mannheim and lasts about one year, with the first semester being completed in Mannheim and the second semester in Adelaide. Students who have obtained their first bachelor´s degree outside of Germany will also be eligible to study in Mannheim for the entire program. After the first semester, students will have to prepare a master's thesis dealing with business law issues in a comparative perspective. During the year, students will deal mainly with issues of comparative law, European business law as well as with international business law.
Location: Mannheim, Germany (1st semester – mandatory for all students, 2nd semester – optional for students that are not german-qualified); Adelaide, Australia (2nd semester – mandatory for German-qualified students, optional for the other students).
Single Diploma.
Language: English.
Number of Places/Students per year: n/a.
Start Date: Fall semester – September.
Duration: 1 year – 2 semesters.
Price/Fee: €8,500 – tuition fee for the entire programme; €160 per semester – administrative fee and fee for the constituted student body.
Scholarships: The scholarship system at the University of Mannheim was developed in 2007. Currently, around 250 students receive funding. The University of Mannheim has one of the most differentiated scholarship systems among public higher education institutions in Germany, and cooperates with a large network of partners and sponsors. Students can benefit and gain diverse experience from this network. As well as the financial support, students are given important networking opportunities. Additionally, there are scholarships that are awarded independently. For more information, please visit the official website [EN].
Accommodation: There are various ways of finding accommodation in Mannheim, ranging from the Studierendenwerk that offers approximately 2,500 rooms in 14 residence halls, to private residence halls. For more information, please visit the following link [EN].
Application Process:
The course of study is a non-consecutive master’s programme, which requires a first degree in law, political science, economics or business studies from a German university or an equivalent degree from a non-German university.
- Deadlines: 15 March – 31 May – application period.
- Required documents: each applicant must submit certified documents showing that he/she:
- has earned at least one degree in law, business, politics or a related subject;
- will have studied at least four years or accumulated at least 240 ECTS-points or equivalent in one or more previous study programs at the time of the beginning of the MCBL program;
- has a good command of spoken and written English (for the exact language requirements, please see the website under “Admission”) [EN];
- has the required motivation for studying in the master’s programme, resulting from a letter of motivation (max. two pages)
- where their curriculum vitae should be included (max. three pages). The exact admission requirements for the M.C.B.L. programme can be found here [DE].
- Application fee: n/a.
Programme structure
To qualify for the degree of Master of Comparative Laws, the student must complete satisfactorily a programme of study consisting of the following requirements with a combined total of not less than 30 units, comprising:
- Core courses to the value of 3 units.
- Elective courses to the value of 21 units, with courses to the value of 9 units to be taken at Adelaide and courses to the value of 12 units to be taken at Mannheim.
- Research equivalent courses to the value of 6 units in the form of a research dissertation.
The programme aims to provide students with competence in both comparative and business law, offering them a competitive edge in their careers as strategic decision makers in both the public and private sectors. It offers a unique combination of traditional comparative law studies (legal methodology, legal traditions, and the common/civil law divide) and studies in business law (e.g., competition law, contract law, company law, and tax law) including trade-related aspects. It provides general and specific knowledge of the European Union legal framework and of the actors in international trade law. The programme addresses, in particular, the practical problems resulting from the co-existence of business law at different levels, i.e., the regional business law of the European Union and their respective Member States with the global (or near-global) trade law of the World Trade Organisation.
The programme is offered full-time (one academic year) with daytime classes. Courses are offered consecutively over two semesters, from September until June. The first semester focuses on European business law and is offered at the University of Mannheim. The second semester has an emphasis on international business law and will be completed either in Mannheim or in Adelaide, depending on the chosen study option. Students who have obtained their first (undergraduate) degree outside Germany may study the entire programme in Mannheim and will in this case be awarded with the academic title of "Master of Comparative Business Law - M.C.B.L. ("Mannheim")". Accordingly, German-qualified students are obliged to study their second semester in Adelaide, whereas all other students can choose between the study options "Mannheim/Adelaide" and "Mannheim only".
LLM Contact:
Office of the M.C.B.L. Coordinator:
Address: University of Mannheim - Department of Law - Dean's Office. Schloss Westflügel (Palace) - room W 219 - 68131 Mannheim - Germany.
Office hours: Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Telephone: + 49 621 181-1321
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://www.uni-mannheim.de/en/ [EN]
