FAQs Application Documents

Yes, we do.

On our website, please go to "LL.M. IP" and then to "Admissions". Here you will be able to access our online application system. Please complete the application form online. After you have sent the data to us, please print the form and sign it, then send it to us with the required documents attached.

When you print your completed online application form, the system will automatically provide a list of required documents. Please make sure you attach all required documents to your application, as incomplete files cannot be processed.

No. We kindly ask you to refrain from stapling your application, and especially from stapling the entire set of documents together with a particulary strong staple. In order to process your application, we will have to remove the staple again.

You are welcome to use paper clips, however.

All applications are evaluated on the basis of the required documents only.

We ask you to please refrain from sending us additional materials. It will help your application much more if you focus on the required documents, but submit these in a complete and timely manner.

Among others, the following are NOT required: certificates of participation; certificates of merit; print-out of correspondence with MIPLC staff members; articles and research papers (published or unpublished); research project suggestions; contributions to blogs.

Please don't.

About 90% of our applicants have completed the WIPO "General Course on Intellectual Property". This means that adding your certificate (especially in multiple languages!) does not give you an edge over your competitors. The same applies to any other course or seminar you may have attended. It does, however, add unnecessary bulk to your application file. We have limited space for storing applications and will therefore have to remove and destroy any additional but unsolicited documents you submit.

It is much more important for the success of your application that you submit all the required documents.

We require copies of your university diplomas and transcripts, but not of other training you have undertaken.

You are welcome to list any training courses you have taken in your CV, but please refrain from sending us certificates of participation.

Thank you for your understanding.

No. We can only accept original applications. Please submit your application file by postal or courier service.

Please note: This applies to all applications, whether you are applying for admission, for financial assistance, and/ or for the DAAD scholarship.

We do not return any application documents.

If your application is unsuccessful, or if you are admitted but decide to not join our program, your documents will be destroyed.

Please add an official letter/ statement from your university confirming that no ranking takes place. This letter must be in English or German or, if it is in any other language, accompanied by a certified translation.

The information below refers to certifications accepted by the MIPLC. If you are applying for the DAAD scholarship, please check with DAAD, as they may have other standards!

If you cannot provide original documents, e.g. because your university issues only one diploma and one set of transcripts, you will have to provide certified copies of the originals.

This means that your university, a notary, or any comparable institution places an official stamp and signature on the photocopy to certify that they are true copies of the original. This will show us that you have not manipulated the copies to, for instance, have them show better grades than you actually achieved.

If you provide documents that were issued in a language other than German or English, they must be accompanied by a certified translation. This means that you must take them to an official translator authorized to translate from the document's language to English or German. The official translator will translate your documents and place his/ her official stamp on the translation to certify that this is a correct translation of the original.

Your documents can be translated into either English or German.

"Home-made" translations will not be accepted.

No, the MIPLC does not have a specific format for the letters of recommendation. Content is more important than form: The letters should help gain us a better impression of you.

However, please make sure your letters are printed on office/ university stationery, signed, and of recent date.

We leave this decision to you.

It is obviously in your interest to provide letters that convey significant information, so you may wish to consider your current situation and decide on that basis. If you have worked for the past five years, it makes more sense to provide a letter from a supervisor than from a former professor. If you have recently completed a study program, it is usually a good idea to provide a professor's reference. It is perfectly acceptable to provide one professional and one academic reference, too. 

Please note: if you are applying for the DAAD scholarship, you are required to submit one professional and one academic reference. Please refer to the DAAD scholarship program brochure for more information.

Yes, you can. However, we will not process your application before it is complete. You should make sure we receive the missing documents as quickly as possible, and before the application deadline.

Applications for the DAAD scholarship must be complete by October 15, including English test scores.

Yes, you can.

If your application is otherwise complete, it can be processed for preliminary admission. However, you will not be granted full admission status until we receive your test results.

NB: Applicants for the DAAD scholarship must submit their test results to MIPLC by October 15. We cannot make any exceptions.

In the meantime, if you can provide evidence of anything else that may prove the high level of your English, such as participation in a study program at an English-speaking university (even if you have not graduated from that university), please add it to your application.