Since 1979, Tulane Law School has taken a lead role in the advancement of environmental legal education and the training of well-prepared environmental lawyers. The LLM in Energy & Environment program was initiated in 1984 and has evolved over time from a program concentrating primarily on oil, gas, and energy issues, to one in which both energy and the environment hold center stage. Tulane seeks to graduate students who understand not only the theory, but also the practice and advocacy of environmental issues.
Tulane is an ideal location for the study of both environmental and energy law. Located in an area of the United States in which these two areas come into frequent conflict, students have the opportunity for exposure to areas of great natural beauty as well as to industrial complexes. Among the resources the Center for Environmental Law and the Center for Energy Law offer students are an outstanding and dedicated faculty, a student-run journal devoted to environmental issues, active and engaged student organizations, and an Institute for Water Resources Law & Policy.
Students in the LLM in Energy & Environment program include recent law graduates, experienced lawyers practicing in local law firms, government agencies and corporations, and attorneys from foreign countries with emerging environmental law systems. Recent years have seen LLM candidates from more than a dozen US states and from at least two dozen countries including Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, India, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey.
The LLM in Energy & Environment requires, in addition to the general degree requirements for LLM candidates, completion of 15 credit hours of coursework in energy and environmental law courses. Students must enroll in the Graduate Seminar in Energy & Environment as well as two of the following three courses: Natural Resources, Pollution Control and Energy Law, Regulation and Policy. A list of additional energy and environmental law electives from the current and past two academic years may be found here. Not all of these courses are offered every year. In appropriate circumstances and with the concurrence of the faculty, other courses may be substituted.
In addition to fulfilling the General Degree Requirements for all LLM programs, students must complete 15 hours in specified environmental or energy law courses.
- Successful completion of two foundation courses, chosen from Pollution Control Law, Natural Resources Law, and Energy Law. (Each of these courses carries 3 credits.)
- Successful completion of Graduate Seminar in Energy & Environment (1 credit).
- Successful completion of three additional courses, chosen from:
- Administrative Law
- Oil & Gas Law (basic or advanced)
- Coastal & Wetlands Law
- Environmental Enforcement
- Comparative Environmental Law
- Hazardous & Solid Waste Regulation
- Historic Preservation Law
- International Environmental Law
- Land Use Planning
- Marine Pollution Law
- Regulation of Toxic Substances
- Toxic Tort Litigation
- Water Law
- Wildlife & Endangered Species Law
Not all of these courses are offered every year. In appropriate circumstances and with the concurrence of the faculty, other courses may be substituted for the courses listed.