What are the key differences between pursuing a master's in Mechanical Engineering and Law in Germany and the UK?

These two fields behave almost oppositely across a border: Mechanical Engineering is close to fully portable between Germany and the UK, while Law is tied so tightly to each country's own legal system that studying law abroad means something entirely different in each place.

Mechanical Engineering: A Straightforward Comparison

DAAD notes an important exception: Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students €1,500 a semester, and some Bavarian universities also charge tuition, so tuition-free isn't universal across every German state.

Law: Where the Two Countries Genuinely Diverge

An English-taught LLM in Germany does not make you a German lawyer. Practising German law requires the country's own legal-qualification pathway, and DAAD-listed German-law master's programmes for foreign law graduates typically require a prior law degree and C1 German. In the UK, an LLM alone similarly doesn't make you a solicitor, but the path is more accessible to international graduates: it runs through passing SQE1 and SQE2, two years of qualifying work experience, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority's suitability requirements, with the Law Society specifically describing a route for overseas graduates.

Working and Staying After Graduation

Germany allows international students to work up to 140 full days a year while studying, and grants an 18-month residence permit to search for skilled work after graduation. The UK permits roughly 20 hours a week during term time, and its Graduate Route currently gives two years for applications made by 31 December 2026, dropping to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027.

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DAAD, Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Law Society.

My Advice

If you're set on Mechanical Engineering, weigh Germany's lower cost against the UK's shorter one-year timeline rather than assuming one is objectively better. For Law specifically, decide your target jurisdiction first, England and Wales practice points strongly toward the UK's SQE route, while German or EU legal work points toward Germany, and don't treat an LLM alone as a qualification in either country.