Important notice
To take part in the FFA programme, you must sit a placement test. You will be notified of the dates after you have registered. All placement tests take place during the break between terms.
To apply for the FFA in Bonn for the next semester, you must submit an application for admission to the Chair of the subject-specific foreign language programme (FFA) Examination Board by the relevant deadline. You can find the application form here – which also lists all the documents you must enclose with your application:
Please complete this form, preferably electronically, and send it, together with all relevant documents, as a PDF to ffa@jura.uni-bonn.de.
The deadline for applications for admission to the FFA programme for the summer semester of 2026 can be found at the following link:
Yes, an information session is held during the semester.
Please refer to the announcements on our FFA homepage, under the ‘News’ section at www.jura.uni-bonn.de, and the notices displayed in the Juridicum.
Your application documents will be checked for completeness. You will then receive a written invitation to the placement test, which you must attend. The admissions committee will subsequently decide which applicants to admit based on the results of this placement test. All applicants will receive written notification of this decision no later than the week before the start of the lecture term.
You must tick the relevant boxes on the application form to indicate which documents you have enclosed as copies. If you are unable to submit certain documents because you do not yet have them in your possession (e.g. because you have only taken the relevant exams during the current semester and do not yet know the results, or because you have not yet been issued with a certificate of attendance for a seminar), you must note this in the field provided on the form. You must then submit the missing documents without delay. Admission to the FFA programme by the Examination Board will be granted subject to conditions if the documents have not yet been received by the time the relevant decision is made.
Questions about the placement test:
All applicants must sit a placement test comprising both an oral and a written component; they will be invited to do so once they have submitted an ‘Application for Admission to the FFA for Lawyers’ and provided the necessary documents. The written test lasts 90 minutes, whilst the oral part of the examination takes approximately 15 minutes. The date for the written placement test will be stated in your personal invitation; you will be informed of the date for the oral part before the written test begins.
We assess you at level B2; naturally, you must also have mastered the requirements of the lower language levels (A1, A2, B1). For your information and to help you prepare effectively (please note that these are merely exercises and do not form part of the FFA entrance test or the FFA final exam in this form), we would like to draw your attention to the following page: Exam English.
The entire placement test always takes place via Zoom.
For the written section of the placement test, we recommend that you revise the following grammatical forms:
simple present, present and past continuous, simple past, present and past perfect, future tenses (going to / will); conditionals and passive forms of verbs.
It is also a good idea to look more closely at the following topics. The relevant phrases may be helpful when writing an essay and for the oral section of the placement test.
- Linking / order language: e.g. firstly, … / in addition, …
- Contrasting: e.g. in contrast, …
- Examples: e.g. for instance, …
- Sum up / conclude: e.g. in brief, … / to conclude, …
- Cause and effect: e.g. therefore, … as a result, …
- Emphasise: e.g. in particular …
- Express opinion: e.g. to my mind …, the way I see it …
- Express agreement: e.g. I see your point.
- Express disagreement: e.g. I’m afraid I have to disagree with (that / you).
- Express agreement and adding another point of view: e.g. I see what you mean.
- Asking for clarification: e.g. sorry, I don’t know what that word means / sorry, I don’t follow you.
- Explaining: e.g. allow me to clarify.
- Suggesting: e.g. I’d (like to) suggest …
- Justifying: e.g. I believe this because …
- Advantages / disadvantages: e.g. the advantages would be (are) … / there are some disadvantages such as …
- Explaining: e.g. I mean …, what I mean is…
- Balancing points of view: e.g. on the one hand, …, on the other hand, …
- Importance: e.g. this is vitally important / this is essential
It is also always helpful to read as much as possible in English and – in preparation for the oral part of the test – to listen to it as well. You can do this, for example, on the following two websites:
BBC Sounds
The Guardian - Law
No knowledge of Anglo-American law is required for the placement test.
Participants will be selected on the basis of the results of the placement test. If there are more equally suitable applicants than there are places available, selection will be made by drawing lots.
Yes, the placement test is compulsory in all cases, as participants are selected solely on the basis of the results of this test.
You will need a stable internet connection and the latest version of Zoom.
During the Zoom meeting, you will be given access to the written placement test. You can either complete it digitally (in which case you will need a word processing programme) and then send it back to us, or you can print out the test, complete it, and send us a scan. In this case, you will need a working printer and scanner or a scanning app.
Dr. Kerstin Petersen (FFA)
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn
Christopher H. Gierson
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn
Jost Hornbostel
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113
Luise van Look
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn
Hagen Wagner
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn