If I complete my LLM, can I apply for teaching or professor roles abroad in Germany?

Your LLM does open academic doors in Germany, but you need to know exactly which doors. You can apply for research and lecturing positions right away, though becoming a full professor requires a doctorate and an additional Habilitation qualification that an LLM alone does not give you.

Academic Roles and What Each One Needs

What You Need to Get There

• Get your LLM and undergraduate law degree validated through the German Anabin Database run by ZAB.
• Plan your language level: an IELTS of 6.5 to 7.0 covers English-taught roles, but domestic law teaching needs C1-level German.
• As a non-EU citizen, you will need a firm employment contract or invitation letter to secure a Skilled Worker Visa or EU Blue Card.
• Search job portals like Academics.com for Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, or Research Associate, vacancies in international law faculties.

My Advice

Use your LLM thesis as the seed for a PhD research proposal and approach a German professor, or Doktorvater, directly, since a PhD position in Germany often comes bundled with a part-time teaching contract. This route gets you into a classroom faster than waiting for a standalone lecturing vacancy to open up.