About us

Structured doctoral research programme

The Graduate School of Law's degree programme is ideal for graduates of law and other disciplines who are keen to pursue ambitious doctoral work in an outstanding, interdisciplinary research environment. Doctoral candidates from all over the world ensure intellectual and international diversity. Postdocs are incorporated into teaching and research. By cooperating with other University faculties and departments, we foster broad professional and academic development and prepare our students for productive careers. The Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. Our programme has also been conceived to support the balance between doctoral studies and family. It is possible to study part-time alongside work.

Research areas

The Graduate School focuses on the two key research areas of the Faculty of Law:

International, European, transnational law, distinguishing the Faculty’s profile since it was established in 1919, deals with law in its international dimensions. It includes research activities in the following individual areas: international law, European law, comparative law and international private law, international criminal law, European insolvency law, international employment law, international tax law, law of the sea, international environmental law, and refugee law. The Faculty's extensive network of research institutions in Germany and abroad attests to its success in this area of concentration. These include the China-EU School of Law (CESL), the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, and the International Tax Institute.

Law in context bundles research activities associated with the principles and interdisciplinary aspects of law, particularly legal history, philosophy of law, legal theory, legal sociology, economic analysis of law, criminology and digital law. Sustainability and law and media and law are further treated as distinct interdisciplinary topics. The Institute for Law and Economics located in the Faculty has a strong research focus and is unparalleled in Germany. The Faculty’s international research affiliations also include manifold associations with international institutions conducting basic research (for example, Minerva Center for the Study of the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa, Israel).

Methodological principles

Theses may address theory or methodology in the field of law or in related fields. The Graduate School especially welcomes interdisciplinary topics. Theses concentrating on legal doctrine or on legal methods should also treat the relationship between the two. Study places will be granted according to thesis topic and content.