Master of Laws in Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law

Note: Please also refer to the registration letter sent to you by the Program Director for details on registration and the LLM Program. LLMs should also review all of the What’s What — Student Handbook, as all general law school policies applicable to JD students also apply to LLM students, except as noted.  LLM students should also look at the LLM website.

Overview of Program Requirements: U.S. Students

To obtain the LLM degree, US LLM students must earn a minimum of 26 semester hours of credit with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or better. Students who have a cumulative GPA below a 2.50 at any point during the LLM program are considered to be on probation and must meet with the LLM program administrator to discuss a plan for completing the program. At least 18 of the 26 total credits must be from the environmental/natural resources/energy law curriculum. All classes listed as environmental/natural resources/energy law classes in the law school’s registration materials, including summer environmental classes, count toward the 18 “environmental credits”. The two credits of the required Emerging Topics course does count toward the 18 “environmental credits”.

Students who have not taken Administrative Law or a survey Environmental Law class in law school fairly recently must take those classes as a LLM at Lewis & Clark as they are important foundational courses. Students may take those classes in the summer or during the regular year. In some cases, students who did not take these two classes in law school, but who have substantial practice experience in administrative or environmental law, may request permission from the program director to waive those courses. 

In order to be sure you are meeting the requirements for the LLM degree in terms of total credits and correct number of “environmental credits,” students are asked to submit their proposed schedules each semester to the program director and to inform the director of any schedule changes.

Overview of Program Requirements: International Students

To obtain the LLM degree, international students must earn a minimum of 28 semester hours of credit. International students are graded on a Credit/No Credit/Honors basis in all classes. Students who receive two “No Credit” designations must petition the Director and Associate Dean to continue in the program. The student must provide a written explanation that demonstrates a change in circumstances that indicate the potential for success. If a student receives 3 or more “No Credit” designations they are ineligible to continue in the program and will be dismissed. Honors will be awarded in classes in which the qualifying LLM student would otherwise have received a grade of B+ or higher.  In unusual circumstances, an international student can request to be awarded letter grades instead of Credit/No Credit/Honors within the first three weeks of the semester. The decision to award letter grades is final and irrevocable, and the student should take into account any future uses of the transcript by employers, other graduate schools, sponsors, and bar examiners before submitting a request.  A form recording the student’s request for letter grades and the director of the international LLM program’s approval will be signed by both the student and the director.

Of the 28 required credits, seven credits must be taken in required courses: the 2 credit Introduction to U.S. Environmental Law course (unless attendance at the seminar is waived), 2 credits of Emerging Topics, and the 3 or 4 credit Environmental Law course (unless the student has taken a similar course recently at a U.S. law school). Of the remaining 21 credits, at least 13 credits must be in environmental/natural resources/energy law classes. We also strongly recommend that international students take Administrative Law as it is helpful in understanding the U.S. environmental regulatory and enforcement system. International students do not complete a thesis. 

Grading Policy for International LLM Students

This grading policy applies to international LLM students. It applies to all classes, environmental and non-environmental.

These students are evaluated on a Credit/No Credit/Honors basis. The student will be awarded a grade of honors in classes in which the student would otherwise have received a grade of B+ or higher.

Students under this grading scheme who want to transfer credits into the JD program must have at least one Honors grade before applying to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The Associate Dean will then evaluate the application to determine whether the student meets admissions standards.

Any students evaluated by this method are not counted in the grading curve for the course.

International LLM students who receive two “No Credit” designations must petition the Director and Associate Dean to continue in the program. The student must provide a written explanation that demonstrates a change in circumstances that indicate the potential for success. If a student receives 3 or more “No Credit” designations they are ineligible to continue in the program and will be dismissed.

Emerging Topics: All Students

All LLMs need to register for one credit of the Emerging Topics course in each of two semesters (two credits total). Attendance is required for all LLMs. Other participants in Emerging Topics will include the natural resources faculty and staff, MSL students, and visiting scholars and fellows. 

Course Load/Timing

LLMs must register for a minimum of 5 credits each semester, except for summer school and the student’s final semester if less than 5 credits are needed to complete the degree, to be considered a full-time student for financial aid/student visa purposes. If a student does not need full-time status for any reason, they may enroll in less credits. LLM students must be enrolled at least half-time to receive Federal Financial Aid, which means 3 credits in the fall/spring and 2 credits in the summer. If an international on campus student wishes to take less than 5 credits in any semester that is not summer or the final semester, they must request permission to “underload” from the Program Director. Being less than a full-time student may impact a student’s ability to defer loan repayments (depending on the lender), so please plan accordingly.

U.S. LLM’s have a total of two and one-half years in which to complete the degree. International LLM’s under U.S. Homeland Security regulations, must ordinarily complete their degree within 18 months and must contact the International Students and Scholars Office well in advance if an extension is needed. Extensions for U.S. students are granted only in exceptional circumstances upon written request to the Program Director. LLM students who are unable to complete all degree requirements may be eligible to receive a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law instead of the degree.

LLMs have a total of two and one-half years in which to complete the degree. Extensions are granted only in exceptional circumstances upon written request to the Program Director. LLM students who are unable to complete all degree requirements may be eligible to receive a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law instead of the degree.

Course Availability

All courses offered at the law school are open to LLM students, except for moot court, law review, and courses for which an LLM student has already received credit in obtaining the JD or other degree. Externships and other practical experiences are available to LLMs. These include the Environmental Clinic (working with the on-campus Earthrise Law Center); the Global Law Alliance for Animals and the Environment (working with the on-campus international environmental clinic); the Environmental/Natural Resources Legal Practicum (working part-time with an environmental lawyer or legal organization in Portland and attending a weekly class meeting); and the Western Resources Legal Center Practicum. You may also register for an Individual Research project with a faculty member. Consult the Course Description book for details on these opportunities.

Leave of Absence/Withdrawal (LLM)

Leave of Absence

Students who need to take a temporary leave of absence from the program must request a leave in writing of the Program Director. The request must specify the basis for the requested leave and the estimated length of the leave. In the absence of unusual circumstances, leaves will be granted for one semester only. The time taken off for a permitted leave is requested and granted prior to the start of the published first day of the semester, the student will no be required to pay tuition for that semester. If the leave of absence is requested and granted on or after the published first day of the semester, charges will be pro-rated according to the Policy of Charge Adjustment. Therefore, the semester tuition charges and the LLM Fee will be pro-rated on a per-day basis, based on the academic calendar, up to the 60% point of the period of instruction for the semester. After the 60% point, there will be no adjustment to these charges.

Withdrawal

If an LLM student wishes to totally withdraw from the program (i.e., not complete the program), the student must notify the Program Director and Registrar as far in advance as possible prior to the withdrawal. The withdrawal is effective as of the date the student notifies the Registrar and Program Director. Students who withdraw prior to the start of the published first day of the semester, will not be required to pay tuition for that semester. For LLM students who totally withdraw from the program on or after the published first day of the semester, charges will be pro-rated according to the Policy of Charge Adjustment. Therefore, the semester tuition charges and the LLM Fee will be pro-rated on a per-day basis, based on the academic calendar, up to the 60% point of the period of instruction for the semester. After the 60% point, there will be no adjustment to these charges.

LLM Tuition

LLM students are charged tuition by the credit hour. 

LLM students may register for, add, and drop courses until the second Thursday of the semester. Please refer to the academic calendar for the specific date each semester. The initial billing will be based on the number of credits registered for at the time of billing. To avoid late charges on tuition, please pay tuition by the time it is due regardless of possible schedule changes. Your account will be adjusted if you change your schedule within the add/drop period after paying your tuition.

PLEASE NOTE the following policy on tuition adjustments for schedule changes (not withdrawals): Dropping classes during the add/drop period: Tuition reversed at 100% for dropped credits (as long as student is not dropping all credits). Dropping classes after the add/drop period ends: no reversal of tuition charges for schedule adjustment.

Insurance

All on campus LLMs are subject to the same policies on insurance as JDS. Please consult the section of this book addressing insurance or visit the Student Health Insurance Information website for more details. Please note that you must be a registered student to be eligible for the college’s insurance. 

Contacts

If you have any questions about the Environmental Law LLM program, please reach out to the program at elaw@lclark.edu. You may also visit the website at https://law.lclark.edu/programs/environmental_and_natural_resources_law/