The most popular option for studying abroad is the traditional semester abroad. During this program, you’ll spend one or more semesters studying at one of our partner universities instead of at Ruhr University, or you can arrange to study at a university of your choice.

You have the following options to choose from:

    First, you can choose from our extensive network of partnerships that the ZfI has established on behalf of the School of Law with other universities. We currently offer over 40 partner universities in 20 countries. Our focus is on European universities within the framework of the ERASMUS program. However, we also have contacts in the U.S.
    For destinations worldwide, it’s worth checking out the university-wide offerings of the International Office, through which you can, for example, spend a semester in East Asia, Latin America, or the U.S.
    If your desired destination isn’t listed, you can also organize your study abroad program yourself as a so-called “freemover.” In this case, you can receive support from private providers such as GO!stralia or the Ranke-Heinemann Institute.

You can find detailed information about our faculty partnerships, your application, and much more here.

If you don’t want to spend an entire semester abroad, an internship abroad—for example, during the break between semesters—is a good option. With an internship abroad, you can generally earn a

• certificate of foreign language proficiency in accordance with Section 7(1)(3) of the JAG NRW and, under certain conditions, have the time count toward your 
• mandatory internship (Section 8 JAG NRW).
• In addition, there are also opportunities to receive financial support.

You can find more detailed information about the recognition and financing of an internship abroad here.

In recent years, the demand for study abroad programs has steadily increased. To help you decide whether to spend a semester or do an internship abroad—and to give you a sense of what an exciting experience it can be—we’ve compiled the experiences and impressions of former students on our blog and are constantly expanding our collection of stories from the perspectives of your fellow students.

Transcript of Records Now Also Available in English!

Until now, an overview of academic records could only be downloaded from eCampus in German. To obtain an official Transcript of Records in English, students therefore had to translate the course details individually using translation tools and enter them into the English template. An English Transcript of Records facilitates international applications for internships abroad and is mandatory for international LL.M. applications.

Starting in the 2022/23 winter semester, students will have the option to obtain their Transcripts of Records—which include all courses taken since the 2016 summer semester—in English. The Transcript of Records is accessed via eCampus and is therefore available to all students (under “Overview of Transcripts (view/print)”). Students can select their degree program and then choose between an overview of all academic records (including exams they did not pass) or a preliminary printout of the Transcript of Records (passed exams only), and, as of recently, they can also choose between German and English.