Master of Legal Studies
Learn about the Online MLS with a concentration in environmental law and policy.
Few fields are as diverse or engaging as that of environmental law, compliance and policy. Together with the outstanding environmental science, economics and policy departments at the University of Arizona, the College of Law can provide rich and rigorous training to those interested in matters of environmental law. Areas include pollution law, water law, natural resources law, energy law, and ecosystem management.
Students may wish to obtain the MLS to work in a private firm environmental compliance department, for a government agency in permitting, environmental assessment or compliance, or for an overseas multinational corporation that will inevitably engage with environmental regulation at the domestic or international levels.
* Indicates courses offered in person and/or online
Required Core Courses (15 UNITS)
- LAW 501* - Procedure (3 units)
- LAW 502A* - American Common Law System I (3 units)
- LAW 502B* - American Common Law System II (3 units)
- LAW 504* - American Public Law System (3 units)
- LAW 507* - Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research (3 units)
Required Courses for this Concentration (3 UNITS)
- LAW 554* - Environmental Law (3 units)
Elective Course Requirements (12 UNITS)
Complete at least 9 units in substantive courses relevant to Environmental Law and Policy from among the following courses, any additional course that may be listed on the website for the Program in Environmental Law, Science and Policy, or any additional course that is approved in advance by the program director.
Although not all courses are offered every semester, a list of possible electives can be found on the course schedules pages.
- LAW 519* - The Ethics & Economics of Environmental Policy (3 units)
- LAW 521* - Administrative Law (3 units)
- LAW 545 - Applied Environmental Law (3 units)
- LAW 550A*- Native American Law and Policy (3 units)
- LAW 559* - Public International Environmental Law (3 units)
- LAW 560 - Land Use Law (3 units)
- LAW 640A* - Public Lands and Mining Law (3 units)
- LAW 643D* - Native American Natural Resources (3 units)
- LAW 696I* - International Environmental Law (3 units)
Some substitutions may be permitted with the approval of the program director. Availability of non-LAW electives is at the discretion of the offering college or department and may incur additional costs.
Additional Electives
Students may complete a minimum of 3 units of graduate-level study from outside the College of Law in coursework that is relevant to environmental law. If a student wishes to take a graduate-level course that is not listed below, he or she should obtain prior approval from the program director.
- AREC 575 - Economic Evaluation of Water and Environmental Policy
- ARL 541A - Natural Resource Management in Native Communities
- GEOS 578 - Global Change
- GEOG 580 - Power, Politics and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
- HWRS 515 - Water Resources Policy
- HWRS 520 - Water Resources Management, Planning, and Rights: A Policy Approach
- MNE 697P* - The Emerging Framework for Development of Mineral Resources
- PLG 559 - Land Use and Growth Controls
- RNR 585 - The Economics & Social Connections to Natural Resources
- RNR 580 - Natural Resources Policy and Law