Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment at VLGS
Overview
Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment at Vermont Law and Graduate School trains students to create cutting-edge solutions to the complex environmental challenges facing communities today.
This school builds on Vermont Law and Graduate School’s depth of expertise in domestic and international law and policy focused on the environment, clean energy, sustainable food and agriculture, and animal protection. The interdisciplinary graduate curriculum brings climate change and racial and economic justice to the forefront.
The school’s courses build practical skills and provide the rigorous training students need to succeed in the job market. Whether in the public, private, or non-profit sectors, students graduate from the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment equipped to have impactful careers in this growing field.
Curriculum
Executive Master of Environmental Policy
The Executive Master of Environmental Policy (EMEP) degree is for mid-career professionals who want to capitalize on their working knowledge and experience and gain the core skills needed to shape environmental policy and integrate issues of racial and economic justice into policymaking. (Offered online and in person during our summer session)
Learn more about Executive Master of Environmental Policy Degrees at VLGS
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree equips students with the foundational elements of public policy coupled with a concentration in animal protection policy, food and agricultural policy, community resilience, clean energy policy, or justice reform policy. (Offered online and in person during our summer session).
Learn more about Master of Public Policy Degree at VLGS
Master of Climate and Environmental Policy
The Master of Climate and Environmental Policy (MCEP) provides training in applied public policy, with a deep grounding in areas of climate change and environmental justice.
(Offered residentially and online)
Learn more about Master of Climate and Environmental Policy Degrees at VLGS
Master of Energy Regulation and Law
The Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) program responds to opportunities presented by the rapid growth of the clean energy sector. (Offered residentially and online)
Learn more about Master of Energy Regulation and Law Degrees at VLGS
Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship
Since 2009, Vermont Law and Graduate School has hosted an annual Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship. Colloquium participants are environmental law faculty in the U.S. and abroad. This event offers environmental law scholars the opportunity to present their works-in-progress, to get feedback from their colleagues, and to meet and interact with those who are also teaching and researching in areas related to environmental and natural resources law, or any related specialty areas.
Tuholske Institute for Environmental Field Studies
The Tuholske Institute for Environmental Field Studies, established in 2021, promotes place-based learning where law, nature, and people meet.
The institute honors the late Vermont Law and Graduate School professor Jack Tuholske, a leading public-interest environmental lawyer. Tuholske inspired an entire generation of environmental lawyers, and his brilliance in the courtroom left a legacy of protection for the wildlands he loved.
An initiative of Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Environmental Law Center, the institute’s experiential education opportunities equip students to advance environmental protection. Field courses across the world enhance students’ cultural competence and understanding of racial and socioeconomic disparities in environmental benefits and harms, diversify their learning experience through exposure to different landscapes and practitioner perspectives, and provide training for hands-on knowledge of natural resources. The institute also advances scholarship, dialogue, and best practices related to the role of field study curriculum in law school, promoting place-based education across institutions.
Hot Topics Summer Lecture Series
Each summer the Environmental Law Center hosts the Hot Topics in Environmental Law lecture series. On Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon, VLGS faculty and invited experts host lectures on a variety of current issues in environmental law and policy. Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is available.
Lectures are free and open to the public. Access recordings of past events below.
2024 Video Archive
2023 Video Archive
2022 Video Archive
2021 Video Archive
- Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series
- Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and the Law: Molly Mowery
2020 Video Archive
- Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series
- Current Issues in Animal Law Lecture Series
- Annual Douglas Costle Lecture: Marianne Engelman Lado
- Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and the Law: Anita Earls
Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment News and Events
Faculty and Staff in the News – April 2025
May 5Below is a selection of recent news highlights featuring members of Vermont Law and Graduate School’s faculty and staff. Pennsylvania Egg Brand Agrees to Drop Deceptive …
A Student Attorney’s Reflections on What It Means to Be a Community Advocate
May 2By: Charlotte Bieri JD/MELP’25 Before law school, I had a very different idea of the type of lawyer I was going to be. I imagined a fulfilling career ahead of […]…
Vermont Law and Graduate School President to Step Down
April 17SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (April 17, 2025) — After three years of dedicated service to Vermont Law and Graduate School, President Rod Smolla will step down from his role as presid…
U.S. News and World Report Again Ranks Vermont Law and Graduate School a Top Environmental Law School
April 9SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (April 9, 2025) — Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) has been ranked No. 4 among the Best Environmental Law Schools by U.S. News and World Report, [&…
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