Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) Degree Requirements

Required courses are subject to change. For more information, please view the latest Academic Regulations or contact the Office of the Registrar: registrar@vermontlaw.edu.

We are no longer accepting applications for the Master of Environmental Law and Policy. For those interested in the environmental and climate policy, please learn more about the new Master of Climate and Environmental Policy (MCEP).

30 credits

Required Courses All of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
REQ7186	Legislation and Regulation Survey	3
ENV5115	Environmental Law	3
ENV5122	Communications, Advocacy, and Leadership	3

In addition to the above, each student must satisfactorily complete at least three of the following five core courses:

Core Courses: Natural Resources Law May choose one of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ENV5235	Natural Resources Law	3

Core Courses: Environmental Science May choose one of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ENV5112	Science for Environmental Law	3
ENV5430	Ecology	3

Core Courses: Environmental Economics and Markets May choose one of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ENV5220	Environmental Economics and Markets	3
ENV5229	Environmental Issues in Business Transactions	3

Core Courses: Environmental Ethics May choose one of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
DIV7628	Indian Tribes as Government Stewards of the Environment	2
ENV5305	Environmental Ethics Seminar	2
ENV5310	Environmental Health Law	2
ENV5375	Global Energy Justice	2
ENV5383	Food System Justice and Sustainability	2
ENV5385	Global Food Security	2
ENV5406	Animal Rights Jurisprudence	2
ENV5408	Law of Animals in Agriculture	2
ENV5422	Animal Welfare Law	2
ENV5446	Environmental Justice	2
ENV5478	Global Food Security and Social Justice	3
ENV5521	Earth Law	2
JUR7330	Moral Philosophy for Professionals	2
JUR7333	Animal Law and Ethics	3

Core Courses: Dispute Resolution May choose one of the following courses:
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ADR6410	Alternative Dispute Resolution	3
ADR6415	Environmental Dispute Resolution	3
ADR6405	Arbitration	2
ADR6412	Mediation	2
ADR6413	Mediation Advocacy	2
ADR6420	Negotiation	2
ADR6450	Advanced Dispute Resolution Writing Seminar	2
INT7450	International Investment Arbitration	2

Remaining electives may be chosen from the courses and experiential options listed above and from the following list of approved courses.

Elective Courses
Course Code	Course Title	Credits
ADR6405	Arbitration	2
ADR6410	Alternative Dispute Resolution	3
ADR6412	Mediation	2
ADR6415	Environmental Dispute Resolution	3
ADR6420	Negotiation	2
ADR6450	Advanced Dispute Resolution Writing Seminar	2
BUS6262	Social Enterprise Law	2
BUS6305	Non-Profit Organizations	3
BUS6350	Non-Profit Management	2
CLI9302	Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (JD or LLM students only)	6
CLI9326	Advanced Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (JD or LLM only)	6
CLI9405	Dispute Resolution Clinic I	4
CLI9427	Energy Clinic	4
CLI9428	Food and Agriculture Clinic	4
CLI9437	Avanced Energy Clinic	4
DIV7620	Native Americans and the Law	3
DIV7628	Indian Tribes as Government Stewards of the Environment	2
ENV5105	Administrative Law	3
ENV5108	I ntroduction to Agriculture and Food Law and Policy	3
ENV5112	Science for Environmental Law	3
ENV5115	Environmental Law	3
ENV5125	Land Use Regulation	3
ENV5205	Air Pollution Law and Policy	3
ENV5209	The Law of Toxics and Hazardous Substances	3
ENV5210	CERCLA Liability and Cleanup	3
ENV5212	Climate Change and the Law	3
ENV5214	Climate Change Mitigation	3
ENV5218	International Climate Change Law (COP)	3
ENV5220	Environmental Economics and Markets	3
ENV5223	Environmental Governance in the Developing World	2
ENV5226	Energy Law and Policy in a Carbon-Constrained World	3
ENV5228	Energy Regulation, Markets and the Environment	3
ENV5230	Global Energy Law and Policy	2
ENV5235	Natural Resources Law	3
ENV5239	Land Transactions and Finance	3
ENV5245	Water Resources Management	3
ENV5246	Water Quality	3
ENV5250	Watershed Management and Protection	3
ENV5303	Advanced Energy Writing Seminar	2
ENV5304	Comparative Environmental Law Research	2
ENV5305	Environmental Ethics	2
ENV5310	Environmental Health Law	2
ENV5335	Extinction and Climate Change	2
ENV5336	Climate Change, Extinction and Adaptation	2
ENV5342	Legal Adaptations to Global Warming	2
ENV5343	Climate Change Adaptation in Human Systems	2
ENV5344	Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy	2
ENV5346	New Frontiers in Environmental Policies	2
ENV5349	Regulating the Marine Environment	2
ENV5350	Risk Assessment	2
ENV5356	Scientific Controversies	2
ENV5365	Climate Change: the Power of Taxes	2
ENV5375	Global Energy Justice	2
ENV5380	Food Regulation and Policy	3
ENV5381	Local Farm and Food Law in Practice
ENV5383	Food Justice and Sustainability
ENV5401	Agriculture and the Environment	3
ENV5405	Ecosystem Conservation Strategies	2
ENV5406	Animal Rights Jurisprudence	2
ENV5408	The Law of Animals in Agriculture	2
ENV5410	The Farm Bill	2
ENV5411	Federal Regulation of Food and Agriculture	2
ENV5362	Representing Farmers and Food Producers	3
ENV5422	Animal Welfare Law	2
ENV5423	Ocean and Coastal Law	3
ENV5430	Ecology	3
ENV5446	Environmental Justice	2
ENV5449	Environmental Litigation Workshop	2
ENV5462	Public Lands Management: Montana Field Study	3
ENV5468	Oil and Gas Production and the Environment	2
ENV5469	Oil and Gas Development and the Environment	3
ENV5474	Land Conservation Law	2
ENV5478	Global Food Security and Social Justice	2
ENV5479	Law and Policy of Local Food Systems	2
ENV5490	End Use Energy Efficiency	2
ENV5500	Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions	2
ENV5510	Essentials of the Electric Grid: Engineering	1
ENV5521	Earth Law	2
ENV5540	Public Health and Food and Agriculture Policy	2
ENV5561	Environmental Enforcement and Compliance	2
ENV5564	Peace, War and the Environment	2
GPP7819	Environmental Issues in Business Transactions (JD students only)	2
INT7412	Law of the European Union	2
INT7413	European Union Law Trento	3
INT7421	International Environmental Law and Policy	3
INT7440	Comparative U.S.-China Environmental Law	2
INT7446	International Trade and the Environment	2
INT7450	International Investment Arbitration and the Environment	2
JUR7307	Culture and the Environment	2
JUR7330	Moral Philosophy for Professionals	2
JUR7333	Animal Law and Ethics	3
PUB7510	Legislation	3
PUB7525	Legislative Clinic	6
PUB7585	State and Local Governance and Finance	3
WRI7380	Advanced Environmental Legal Research	1

Note: This page is offered as a quick, simplified glance of a complex topic. Please consult the Academic Regulations for full and official degree requirements.