Environmental Law LL.M. Curriculum

The Master of Laws, LL.M., is a specialized law degree for those who already earned a J.D. and wish to further advance their knowledge of law. The LL.M. with Concentration in Environmental Law requires students from the U.S. and other countries to complete 24 semester credit hours; which includes at least one experiential course, or other pre-approved equivalent course, work, or other experience. Also, as part of the total credit hours, students must complete a “Capstone” project on an approved topic of choice, which can take the form of an academic article of publishable quality, a policy “white paper,” meeting professional standards, or a similar undertaking. U.S. students attending full-time can generally complete the LL.M. program in one academic year (two semesters). Those attending part-time may take up to three years to finish all requirements.
**Please note: not all courses are offered every semester. **
Required Core Courses (15 credits total)
(for Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and other U.S. law students):
- LAW L844 Administrative Law* (3 credits)
- LAW L858 Environmental Law* (3 credits)
- LAW L835 Natural Resources Law* (3 credits)
- Capstone project (3 credits)
- One experiential offering, or other pre-approved equivalent offering or experience, including:
- LAW L900 Academic Externship (3 credits)
- LAW L976 Environmental Law and Policy Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L976 S50 Environmental Law and Policy: Florida Keys (3 credits)
- LAW L977 Environmental Litigation: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
- Any other experiential opportunity (including work experience) with approval
*If any of these courses were completed during a J.D. program, other courses from the available offerings may be substituted for these credit hours.
Elective Courses: Environment and Law (9 credits minimum)
(no more than 6 hours combined non-environmental law and non-law electives allowed)
- LAW L900 Academic Externship (3 credits)
- LAW L864 Admiralty 1 (3 credits)
- LAW L879 Admiralty Seminar: Marine Pollution (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L822 Bioethics and the Law (3 credits)
- LAW L819 Construction Industry & Sustainability Seminar (2 credits)
- LAW L913 Disaster Law and Policy (2 credits)
- LAW L975 Energy Law and Policy (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L929 Energy and the Environment in International Law (2 credits)
- LAW L976 S50 Environmental Law and Policy: Florida Keys (May Term, 3 credits, in Florida)
- LAW L976 Environmental Law and Policy Lab (3 credits)
- LAW L886 Environmental Law Seminar (2 credits) (may take more than one), including:
- Law and the Climate Crisis;
- Environmental Enforcement and Compliance;
- Hot Topics in Environmental Law
- LAW L834 Environmental Justice (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L977 Environmental Litigation: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
- LAW L911 Introduction to American Indian Law: Overlapping Jurisdictions (3 credits)
- LAW L837 Property and Land Use Seminar: Land Use Law (2 or 3 credits)
- LAW L817 Mediation and Arbitration (3 credits)
- LAW L835 Natural Resources Law (3 credits)
- LAW L896 Professional Seminars (2 credits) (may take more than one), including:
- Green Building
- Introduction to International Law of the Sea
- LAW L837 Property and Land Use Seminar: Property, Land Use and Justice (3 credits)
- LAW L856 State and Local Government Law (2 credits)
- LAW L838 Oil and Gas Law (3 credits)
Non-Law Electives
(no more than 6 hours combined non-environmental law and non-law electives allowed)
Remaining course offerings, including those at main campus, require instructor approval and graduate level work added. Examples include:
- RELS V265 Eco-Feminist Theologies
- PHIL W245 Environmental Ethics
- PHIL U243 Environmental Philosophy
- ENVA H295 Environmental Policy
- SOCI A355 Environmental Sociology
- ENVA A194 Foundations in Environmental Science
- ENVA A105 Foundations in Environmental Studies
- SOCI X236 Global Environmental Crisis
- HIST Q236 Historical Geography
- HIST Q234 Technology, Nature and the West
- HIST Q294 Water and Society
For a fuller list of possible courses, review the topics below in the undergraduate bulletin:
Environmental courses
Food Studies courses
Business, Decision Science and Entrepreneurship
Political Science courses
Sociology courses
For more information, please contact Marianne Cufone, Director of the Environmental Law Program.