Examination location Lüneburg: studying law differently
2024-04-24 Lüneburg. With the Bachelor's (LL.B.) and Master's (LL.M.) degree programs leading to the first state examination in law (First Examination), the School of Public Affairs at Leuphana University Lüneburg offers the first law degree program in Germany to be fully integrated into the Bologna Process. "A good 180 years after the introduction of the two-tier German legal education system, the Lüneburg model provides important reform impulses by offering the opportunity to acquire two fully-fledged university degrees on the way to the state examination," says course director Professor Dr. Till Patrik Holterhus.
In a joint ceremony on April 24, 2024, attended by the President and Vice President of the Lower Saxony Judicial Examination Office, members of the the School of Public Affairs and the University President, Lüneburg's official acceptance as a Lower Saxony examination location was sealed. Sebastian Schuster, President of the Judicial Examination Office, presented a corresponding certificate and stated on this occasion: "I am delighted that Leuphana University Lüneburg is now the fourth university in Lower Saxony to prepare students for the first examination, i.e. the state examination. This demonstrates the quality, appeal and impact of the state examination and contributes to the overall strengthening of legal training leading to the first examination."
The first Master's graduates from Lüneburg will take the first state examination in law at the State Judicial Examination Office as early as the beginning of 2025. The establishment of the new study model is a milestone for the university city Lüneburg, which is already a highly visible place on the legal map with the Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony, for example.
In line with Leuphana's mission statement as a humanistic, sustainable and action-oriented university, the Lüneburg law degree course is characterized not only by comprehensive exam preparation but also by the prominent role of interdisciplinary connections and a unique design option. As part of their Bachelor's degree, law students in Lüneburg can choose freely from various minor subjects such as business administration and economics, philosophy, political science and sustainability science in addition to their main legal subject (major in law). Prof. Dr. Axel Halfmeier, Dean of the School of Public Affairs, which has also been a member of the German Association of Law Faculties since March of this year, explains: "The subjects of political science, economics and law are in close contact at our faculty. Interdisciplinarity and interdisciplinary cooperation characterize research and teaching at Leuphana and thus also the training of future lawyers in Lüneburg."