Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

Program Highlights

• Wide variety of core and specialized courses and seminars in environmental law, energy law, public lands and natural resources law, land use law, agriculture and the environment, water law, and international environmental law
• One-to-one independent research and writing project opportunities with faculty
• Externship opportunities during the academic year and summer to work on cutting-edge environmental and energy law projects for nonprofit organizations and governmental entities
• Networking and career advancement opportunities with alumni in the Twin Cities and worldwide
• Environmental and energy law clinic and moot court opportunities

Study Opportunities

• Required courses: environmental law, advanced administrative law, energy law, the environmental and energy law clinic or other topical experiential learning opportunity, and two additional courses such as public lands and natural resources law, agriculture and the environment, advanced environmental law, or the energy and utility seminar.
• Extensive interdisciplinary environmental and energy course offerings are available throughout the University at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the ecology, geography, conservation biology, and applied economics departments.
• J.D. students also can earn a joint degree in another relevant discipline through the Dual Degrees program.

Practical Opportunities

• Work with real clients, including nonprofits or other nongovernmental entities seeking legal advice on advocacy in the legislative or regulatory arenas through the Environmental and Energy Law Clinic
• Learn appellate law advocacy on environmental issues through the Environmental Law Moot Court
• Participate in a national environmental and energy law moot court competition 
• Write law review articles for student and peer-review journals, including the Minnesota Law Review; Minnesota Journal of Law, Science, & Technology; Minnesota Journal of International Law; and Minnesota Journal of Law and Inequality.
• Take advantage of Minnesota Law's status as a Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (RMMLF) Constituent Law School. RMMLF provides tuition scholarships to students enrolled at Minnesota Law; provides travel and registration funding for RMMLF educational programs around the country; and offers mentoring opportunities with attorneys practicing in the environmental, natural resources, and energy law fields. Read more about their Law Student Programs.
   

Employment Opportunities

• The vibrant Twin Cities environmental and energy law community offers opportunities for part-time work during the school year and full-time summer employment with governmental agencies, law firms, legal departments at corporations and utilities, and nonprofit environmental groups.
• Prospective employers from around the country come to the Law School to interview students for summer and permanent positions, and the Career Center provides regular notice of employment opportunities, fellowships, and other scholarly opportunities.

Student-Led Opportunities

The Environmental and Energy Law Society (EELS): EELS invites practicing lawyers to speak to students and provides opportunities for interaction and service projects in the community that build practice skills.

Other Opportunities

• The University of Minnesota has hundreds of leading environmental and energy faculty, and numerous centers and institutes that support interdisciplinary study and research.
• The Joint Degree Program in Law, Science & Technology provides unique opportunities for students to participate in interdisciplinary programming, and receive funding to support interdisciplinary research interests.
• The University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment serves as a locus for environmental research and policy initiatives, and provides many opportunities for students.
• The Energy Transition Lab, a strategic initiative of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, Office of the Vice President of Research and the Law School, brings together leaders in government, business and nonprofit organizations to develop new energy policy pathways, institutions, and regulations.