Faculty of Law

Dear visitors to our homepage,

Whether you are considering studying Law in Tübingen, are already a student here, or are one of the friends and patrons of our Faculty, welcome to the web pages of the Faculty of Law at the
University of Tübingen!

I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief introduction to the Faculty of Law. Along with the Faculties of Theology, Medicine, and the Arts, Law was one of the four founding faculties when the University of Tübingen was established in 1477.
It has existed ever since, despite undergoing structural changes over the years. For details, see our Faculty history.

One of our main tasks is to train high school graduates from across Germany in legal studies. With a degree from our Faculty and a successful traineeship, graduates can become judges or lawyers. In addition, the Faculty offers a variety of classes for students of other Faculties. We also offer a study program designed for graduates from law schools outside Germany – our LL.M. Program. And many international students do part of their training in Tübingen under Erasmus and other exchange programs. Our Faculty places a strong emphasis on counseling its current students as well as potential students both from within Germany and abroad. Here is an overview of our Faculty course advisors. The students themselves also offer practical advice via a number of student groups.

Twenty-one professors currently carry out research and teaching at the Faculty of Law along with their academic staff. This teaching is complemented by members of the judiciary and legal practitioners with practical and teaching experience who work with us as adjunct professors and associate lecturers. More information on our teaching staff and courses is available under Professors and Classes.

The Faculty of Law is not oriented towards specialization in particular areas of the law; it is a comprehensive law school, where research and teaching are carried out across the basic spectrum of German, European and international law. However, we do have fields of core research, for instance in the historical foundation of the law, in commercial law, labor and tax law, as well as in criminal law, which is increasingly intertwined with international and European law as well as parts of public security law. Information on core research pursued by our professors can be found under Research. Our doctoral and post-doctoral fellows also carry out valuable legal research.

Our Faculty is home to the Juristisches Seminar library and our Computer Center, giving us extensive infrastructure for researchers and teachers as well as for students. At the same time, we welcome both moral and material support, which we receive from the Juristische Gesellschaft Tübingen e.V., a non-profit organization, among others.

The Faculty of Law is part of the University of Tübingen, which joined the ranks of German universities deemed excellent under the German government’s Excellence Initiative in 2012. The appointment of Tübingen law professors to Germany’s highest courts, as well as various academic prizes, bear witness to the excellent research and teaching carried out within our Faculty. And in many different kinds of rankings, our Faculty is placed consistently well above the average. Yet these rankings are rarely a useful indicator of the actual conditions for research and study – the factors which are most important to the student. It is one of the Faculty Board’s central tasks to optimize these conditions despite legal and financial restraints. My colleagues and I will therefore continue to make every effort in this endeavor. We welcome you as a student or as an international visitor to the Faculty of Law in Tübingen!

With best regards
Christine Osterloh-Konrad
- Dean -