Animal law and policy is a rapidly expanding field with an increasing number of students and employers recognizing and focusing on the interconnection between human, environmental, and animal well-being. Law and graduate students at VLGS benefit from the school's decades-long history as a pioneer in animal law, distinguished faculty, robust and active network of alumni in leadership positions, and collaborative programs.
VLGS offers a variety of options for students and advocates interested in taking courses or earning degrees. JD students may choose from a number of specialized courses and clinical opportunities, including the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic, to earn a concentration in animal law residentially or through the animal law track online. Earning this concentration provides students with the skills and training needed to practice animal protection law, lead animal advocacy organizations, and advance legal protections for animals. Law school graduates, and current VLGS students, may launch or further their animal advocacy careers with an Animal Law LLM residentially or online. Applications are now open for three animal law and policy fellowships for the 2024-25 school year.
Building upon its long history of training leaders in environmental and animal protection, VLGS recently launched the Master of Animal Protection Policy program and will welcome the first class in August 2023. VLGS is one of the only schools where graduate students may take law courses, and the MAPP's innovative curriculum is comprised of specially tailored graduate-level courses. Earning a MAPP degree will benefit anyone seeking a career related to animal protection, whether in government, community organizing, advocacy organizations, regulatory agencies, academic institutions, or elsewhere.
VLGS offers animal law and policy courses during each summer session. These two-week and weekend intensive courses are taught by leading scholars and practitioners on cutting-edge topics. They are open to anyone interested in learning more about animal advocacy, and provide non-degree seekers and students from other schools an opportunity to participate in our courses and programs.
As with other VLGS courses and degrees, there are opportunities to take animal law and policy courses on campus or online; as part of a residential or online hybrid JD, master's or joint degree; as a non-degree seeking student; and on a variety timelines. VLGS strives to provide a wide range of opportunities for students and professionals to access our courses and learn how to be effective advocates for animals.
Please contact Admissions or the Animal Law and Policy Institute at animallaw[at]vermontlaw.edu to learn how you can be an agent for change through Vermont Law and Graduate School.
