According to U.S. News & World Report, students interested in pursuing careers in environmental law should investigate the Vermont Law School, Lewis and Clark College, and the University of California at Berkeley. U.S. News rankings of the environmental law programs at these schools are based on nominations from law professors at American Bar Association-accredited law schools.
Vermont Law School
An independent law school not affiliated with a public or private college or university, the Vermont Law School earns the top ranking from U.S. News survey respondents with regards to their environmental law program. Students may undertake programs at the master’s degree level or may pursue a Juris Doctor degree.
In addition to the JD degree, the Master of Environmental Law and Policy degree (MELP), a joint JD/MELP degree, and the Master of Laws degree (all of which offer and range of courses on environmental laws and policies), students may pursue environmental-related joint degrees with a number of schools in the United States and around the world. The Vermont Law School partners with Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, among others, to offer degrees that combine environmental law with other areas of interest related to environmental studies.
Lewis and Clark College
The law school at Lewis and Clark College ranks second of U.S. News & World Report’s list of top environmental law programs. Lewis and Clark, located in Portland, Oregon, offers a JD certificate program and a Master of Laws degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Law.
Students who choose the Environmental and Natural Resources Law track within the JD must take Administrative Law and Environmental Law, plus take 8 classes within the environmental curriculum and produce two significant papers with an environmental focus. Students may also specialize further within the Environmental and Natural Resources program by taking a core of courses in animal law. The Master’s of Laws program is a one-year program in which students may take up to 8 credits of non-environmentally related courses.
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California at Berkeley School of Law earns the third spot among environmental programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report surveys. Berkeley’s Environmental Law Program allows JD students to earn a certificate of specialization in Environmental Law if they complete Administrative Law, Environmental Law and Policy, 3 environmentally-related courses or seminars, and a course in public law, in addition to completing a paper on a suitable topic.
Berkeley’s Environmental Law Program also houses Ecology Law Quarterly, which offers students the opportunity to write, edit, and publish one of the nation’s leading law journals in the field. The program also offers combined degree programs with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.
Students who wish to study environmental law or pursue other legal specialties should note that the American Bar Association does not rank law schools itself, nor do they endorse law school ranking lists published by U.S. News & World Report or other such publications. Prospective law students should carefully research which law school would be the right fit for them personally and professionally by reading materials (both online and in print) published by law programs, and they should schedule visits to schools if possible before making any final enrollment decisions.
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Amy Martin - Amy Martin is a freelance writer who holds a Ph.D. in English Studies from Illinois State University. She taught literature and writing ...
