Master of Laws in Austrian Law

The prerequisite for admission to the Master’s programme in Law is the completion of a relevant Bachelor’s or Diploma programme with a workload of at least 180 ECTS credits and German level C1.

If you have decided to study law at SFU, please register in our online tool.
An access code will be sent to the email address you provided. Please also check your SPAM folder. Afterwards, you can log in at any time, make changes to your data or upload additional documents.

How to apply

Step 1 Please select the desired field of study
Step 2 Please fill in the forms and upload the required documents:
Letter of motivation (min. 1/2 Din A4)
Proof of citizenship or photo ID (e.g. passport)
University entrance qualification certificate (e.g. Matura certificate, Berufsreifeprüfungszeugnis)
Proof of completion of BA law studies
Step 3 Check the data again and click on “Send application”.
Step 4 Invitation to an admission interview
Step 5 Fixing an appointment
Step 6 Talk about your intentions to study law at SFU
Step 7 Handing over of a draft contract
Step 8 Possibility to ask questions about the contract | Discussion of possible credit transfer possibilities
Step 9 Conclusion of the study contract

Application deadlines
Start of summer semester: 01.02.2023
End of summer semester: 31.08.2023
Start of courses: 27.02.2023
(Application deadline SS until 22.02.2023, WS until 27.09.2023 )
(Enrollment deadline in individual cases 14 days after start of course)

Credits
Examinations already completed can be credited, as long as they are part of the SFU curriculum.  The tuition fees are reduced by credits. You are welcome to attend courses that have already been credited in order to refresh your knowledge. Crediting is done by analogous application of § 78 para. 1 and para. 3 UG 2002.
Please send us your collective certificate in advance by e-mail: jus@sfu.ac.at

The Master of Law programme has a strong practical orientation. Many course instructors work in practice. The courses offered include training in practice-relevant writing and argumentation skills, negotiation skills and communication in a legal context. In addition, there is an in-depth examination of the social and communicative skills that are central to legal work. In addition, the Master’s programme places great emphasis on a strong link between research and teaching. In particular, the master’s thesis represents an independent advanced scientific treatment of research questions from the area of the respective focus by the students. In addition, students are increasingly involved in the research activities of the faculty and the individual lecturers through the courses, but also through individual project work.

The Master of Law programme is divided into the following modules:
Module 1 Multidimensional case studies
Module 2 Multidimensional Private Law
Module 3 Enforcement of claims
Option 1 Private Law
Option 1: Module 1 Personal and Family Law
Option 1: Module 2 Contract Law and Contract Drafting
Option 1: Module 3 Practice of Procedural Law
Option 2 Sovereign protection
Option 2: Module 1 State and Semi-State Organization
Option 2: Module 2 Welfare State and Insurance
Option 2: Module 3 Regulation and Competition
Module 4 Master thesis

For the successful completion of the Master of Laws programme, a master’s thesis must be written and a final examination (master’s examination) must be passed. The content, workload, frequency and learning objectives of the individual modules as well as the tabular overview of the courses can be found in the module handbook.

Curriculum Master of Law JUS:
Curriculum (pdf)

Qualification goals

Upon completion of the Master of Laws programme, students possess specialized knowledge, some of which is linked to the latest findings in a field of work or learning, as a basis for innovative thinking and/or research, as well as a critical awareness of knowledge issues in a field and at the interface between different fields. Furthermore, the professional qualification for the regulated professions according to § 3 RAO, § 6 NO and § 2a RStDG is available.
Graduates have specialized problem-solving skills in the field of research and/or innovation to gain new knowledge and develop new procedures as well as to integrate knowledge from different fields and the skill to manage and design complex, unpredictable work or learning contexts that require new strategic approaches. Finally, there is also the skill to write professional papers as well as, in particular, briefs in professional practice and to lead teams, including reviewing the legal performance of others.

Competencies

Specialized legal competencies
The Master of Law programme provides specialized knowledge that bridges the gap to the latest findings and lays a broad foundation for innovative thinking in practice and research. Students develop and train a critical awareness of knowledge issues and practice cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking.
The master’s programme builds upon and complements the bachelor’s programme in depth and breadth so that all students have a full legal education upon graduation from the master’s in law programme. In the first year, the master’s programme provides for a joint master’s compact year that deepens the areas covered in the bachelor’s programme. At the same time, the Master’s programme offers a practice- and thus professionally-oriented specialization in the second year, which has two alternative and equivalent options. Option 1 emphasizes – with due regard for the requirements of a comprehensive legal education – the growing area of privately autonomous law-making (“Option 1: Private Law Law-Making”) and takes into account the needs and challenges of a privatized meritocracy. Option 2 focuses on state functions and services in the broad sense and shows in which areas the state intervenes in a protective manner (“Option 2: Sovereign Protection”).

Personal and social competencies
The social and communicative skills already acquired during the Bachelor of Law programme are deepened in the Master’s programme. This is done, for example, in the courses Negotiation Skills and Intercultural Mediation. The courses teach negotiation skills relevant to practice by means of interactive exercises. Furthermore, social requirements and communicative strategies in an increasingly multicultural society are also learned in connection with the teaching of skills required for mediation practice.

Professional requirements
Due to its broad interdisciplinary and international orientation, which is specialized in two alternative directions, and its high application orientation, the Master of Law degree programme opens up the possibility for graduates to work in numerous professional fields. These include the traditional areas of law (judicial, notarial and legal careers) as well as other areas that increasingly require legal knowledge and specialized skills. These include health and nursing care, legal consulting activities outside the traditional legal professions, e.g. on labor and social security law issues, family counseling, banking and insurance, consumer protection matters, debtor and investment counseling, asylum and alien law, activities in chambers and associations as well as outsourced public enterprises, NGOs, international organizations, etc.
The Lawyers’ Act (in § 3 RAO), the Notaries’ Act (in § 6a NO) as well as the Judges’ and Public Prosecutors’ Service Act (in § 2a RStDG) define the requirements for studies suitable for the exercise of the respective profession. The basic requirement is that the duration of studies must be at least four years and the workload at least 240 ECTS credits. In terms of content, the legislation specifies seven areas of knowledge, within which the study programme must have a workload of at least 200 ECTS credits. Of these, at least 150 ECTS credits must be in the field of law. This requirement is fulfilled by completing the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in law at SFU (total duration of studies: five years, total ECTS credits: 300).

Costs
The total tuition fees are limited with the number of semesters of the standard duration of studies (baccalaureate: 6).
An extension of the studies by 1 year does not increase the total cost of the studies.
Costs: Euro 9.045,-/semester
Tuition fees are due at the beginning of each semester, upon receipt of invoice.

Account details
Sigmund Freud University Vienna 
IBAN: AT86 1813 0310 0096 0007
BIC/SWIFT-Code: BWFBATW1

Tax deductibility
If the course of study constitutes a further education measure or a retraining measure, the tuition fees can be claimed under the Income Tax Act.
The entire tuition fees are then tax deductible.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our finance department (jus-accounting@sfu.ac.at).

In accordance with the awarded criteria, Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität annually awards merit and promotion scholarships.

Application deadlines
Start of summer semester: 01.02.2023
End of summer semester: 31.08.2023
Start of courses: 27.02.2023
(Application deadline SS until 22.02.2023, WS until 27.09.2023 )
(Enrollment deadline in individual cases 14 days after start of course)

Next information event (in German language)

The Master of Law programme was accredited by the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria (AQ Austria) in 2016.

Head of the Master programme
Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ Diana Zu Hohenlohe, LL.M.
Vice Dean and Head of the Master’s degree programme at the Faculty of Law
University Professor of Public Law, European Law and International Law
E-Mail

StudyServiceCenter of the Faculty of Law
Lassallestrasse 3, 6th floor,
1020 Vienna
Tel: 0043 1 4700 104
E-mail: jus@sfu.ac.at

Opening hours
Mon: 13:00 – 16:00
Tue: 09:00 – 12:00
Wed: 09:00 – 12:00
Thu: 13:00 – 16:00