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Environmental Law LL.M. Curriculum

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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. 

 

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**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.