Master of Laws: Silas Kißmer - "The state examination would be the crowning glory".

Silas Kißmer follows a busy schedule: in addition to his Master of Laws studies, the 25-year-old works as a student trainee at a Hamburg-based corporation. This involves, among other things, analysing the legal background of online platforms. Before that, he had already completed his compulsory internship in the legal department of the same Hamburg company: "That experience strengthened my decision to study," says Silas Kißmer.

After graduating from high school, the native of Sauerland first looked for a suitable university for his business studies. He applied for the International Business Administration & Entrepreneurship programme. When visiting Leuphana for the selection process, he was thrilled: "I liked the campus, the way the programme was organised was good, and the people were open-minded," Silas Kißmer recalls. After only a short time, he was accepted: he was able to start his studies at Leuphana College in the winter semester of 2016.During his studies, it was especially the legal content that fascinated the student: "Law holds our society together. That's why I added the law programme." After completing both the Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science degrees, many doors were open to Silas Kißmer in 2021: "I first worked for a year to be able to make the right decision by taking my time." Waiting has paid off for him: Silas Kißmer is one of the first students in the unique Master of Laws programme (LL.M./1st State Examination in Law). "I had hoped to stay at Leuphana. Later, I would like to work in a company as an in-house lawyer. But without a licence, I could never represent anyone in court. I need the state exam."

The Master of Laws at Leuphana is the first degree programme that offers students the opportunity to obtain both the state law examination and a master's degree in law (LL.M.). Students deepen their knowledge of civil law, public law and criminal law, which are prerequisites for the state law examination. Innovative teaching and learning concepts and working in small groups ("learning in teams") create the conditions for an optimum preparation for the state examination. Exam preparation on the basis of revision and in-depth courses is integrated into the two-year programme. With the focus area "Law in Context", the model degree programme goes beyond a classic dogmatic perspective of jurisprudence by elaborating the relevant content from civil law, public law and criminal law against the background of current social challenges and transformations. "You have to learn a lot; the programme is intensive. But for me, the programme is just right because we also think outside the box. For example, we combine law with economics and sustainability." Silas Kißmer is impressed by the small learning groups, the close supervision, and the good teamwork: "There is no competition in our cohort. We go through our studies together and support each other. The training is comprehensive, the state examination would be the crowning glory."