Environmental & Natural Resources Law & Policy LLM

Legal, business and policy-making professionals are facing an array of interrelated environmental, natural resources and energy issues. Many competing interests are involved in balancing environmental protection and natural resources development.

Denver Law provides a world-leading course of graduate study and experience for students seeking greater understanding of these issues, and the associated challenges and opportunities. Along with our environmental and natural resources core classes, we offer our students innovative coursework in renewable energy and sustainable development to better prepare them to excel in their careers.

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  • ENRLP LLM Requirements

    ENRLP LLM candidates are required to obtain a minimum of 24 credits; most courses are worth 3 credits. Students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.7 to remain in good standing.

    A full-time student may earn the degree in one academic year (or over 2 consecutive semesters); a part-time student may earn the degree in 2 years. Program time limit is 3 years from the time of matriculation. 

    All students entering the program are required to complete:

    • L4707 – American Legal Systems, Research, and Writing
    • Capstone requirement: At least 15-25 written pages on an appropriate legal subject with a significant legal research component, approved by the ENRLP Program Director. This can be achieved either through an elective course taken after the first term of the program or by registering for a 2-3 credit Directed Research Project.

    Students may pursue one of the following specializations:

    • Environmental Law and Policy
    • Energy Law and Policy
    • Mineral Law and Policy
    • International Resources Transactions Law and Policy
    • Water Law and Policy

    Please find additional information on the following link: http://www.law.du.edu/forms/enrgp/specialization.cfm

  • ENRLP Course Information

    You may customize your course of study, depending upon your goal to work internationally, within the United States, or both. The Sturm College of Law offers over forty courses in these advanced degree programs, divided equally between international and domestic issues. There are no required courses, you may customize your degree by selecting any approved courses. Please be advised that not all courses are offered every year and that some courses may be offered in only one semester every year.

    All students entering the program are required to complete:

    • L4064 – Introduction to the American Legal System (International students only – certain exceptions may apply.)
    • Capstone requirement:  At least 15-25 written pages in an appropriate legal subject with a significant legal research component, approved by the ENRLP Program Director. This can be achieved either through an elective course taken after the first term of the program or by registering for a 2-3 credit Directed Research Project.

    View the current Sturm College of Law class schedules 

    To View all Sturm College of Law course descriptions 

    View ENRLP discipline courses 

  • Documents & Forms
  • External Courses

    While working in the advanced degree program, you may extend your academic credentials by taking additional credited courses offered outside the College of Law. LLM and MLS ENRLP (formally MRLS) students may take up to six credit hours at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Daniels College of Business, or at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. LLM, MLS ENRLP(formally MRLS) and JD students may also participate in one of our inter-university exchanges.

    Josef Korbel School of International Studies (Korbel)

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    The Josef Korbel School of International Studies has an internationally renowned curriculum of graduate studies programs that attract students from many countries. Korbel prepares students for positions in government service, international organizations, and international business. Students gain expertise in a general area of international relations, such as international politics, comparative politics, political theory, and international economics.

    The Daniels College of Business

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    The Daniels College of Business Administration provides programs in business and commercial law. Many Korbel and Daniels faculty members and associates have experience within the field of international natural resources studies.

    Colorado School of Mines

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    The University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) have had a long and successful relationship, offering law students interested in a career in natural resources and environmental law the opportunity to pursue a graduate-level degree at CSM jointly with their JD degree at the University of Denver. LLM and MLS ENRLP (formally MRLS) students in the International Natural Resources and Environmental Law Graduate Studies program also may take CSMcourses. The Colorado School of Mines is just twenty minutes from the Sturm College of Law campus.

    The Colorado School of Mines was established in the late 1800s and is regarded as preeminent among universities worldwide, offering courses in engineering, economics, geology, petroleum, environment, and other earth science disciplines. CSM’s departments of Geophysics and Resource Economics are considered among the finest in the world. The school maintains its own “working laboratory” mine in nearby Idaho Springs, and a geological and petroleum camp near Pueblo, Colorado.

Denver Law is one of the best schools in the world in the Environmental Law Program, so the decision was easy for me. 

- Rodrigo Cortes, LLM'19

 

#26 ranked program U.S. News & World Report

#6 greenest law school in the nation The National Jurist

A+ practical training preLaw Magazine

Message from the Director

Although many law schools have environmental law programs, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s environmental and natural resources program is one of very few that introduces students to all of the aspects of environmental and natural resources law. In addition to offering courses in traditional areas of environmental law (air pollution, water pollution and hazardous waste law), the program also addresses the environmental aspects of land use law and growth management, Indian law, mining law, oil and gas law, public land law, wildlife law, water law and energy law.

Just as significant, we pride ourselves on providing students with opportunities for hands-on experience in the practice of environmental and natural resources law. The wonderfully supportive Denver environmental and natural resources bar, our legal externship program and environmental law clinic provide unparalleled opportunities for learning what environmental and natural resources attorneys actually do every day and helping students decide what they want to do with their careers.

Come join us. We are confident you will benefit from our program.

Program Directors

 
Wiersema

Annecoos Wiersema

Professor & Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

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