Law and Sustainability Certificate

Certificate requirements

To earn the Certificate in Law and Sustainability, a student must fulfill all of the following requirements:

1. Be a JD or LLM student in good standing
2. Substantive coursework requirement
3. Minimum average grade requirement
4. Active participation in the Law and Sustainability Program
5. Writing requirement

Substantive coursework requirement

Students must earn at least 15 credit hours related to sustainability and environmental law. The list of eligible core and elective courses are subject to modification by the Program Directors.

Coursework requirements:

1. At least two (2) of the following Core Courses:
   • Environmental Law
   • Energy Law and Policy
   • Natural Resource Law
   • Water Law
2. Remaining credits from the following Elective Courses:
   • Administrative Law
   • Agriculture Law
   • Biodiversity Law 
   • Environmental Law
   • Energy Law and Policy
   • Federal Indian Law II
   • Indian Energy
   • International Environmental Law
   • Land Use Regulation
   • Law, Science and Technology (with approval of paper topic)
   • Mass Tort Litigation
   • Natural Resource Law
   • Sustainability Law Research Seminar 
   • Utility Law and Regulation
   • Water Law
   • Law Journal, Jurimetrics Journal, or special topics Seminars (as approved by the Program Directors)

Minimum Average Grade requirement

Each student must earn a cumulative average grade of at least 3.0 for the courses taken to satisfy the substantive course work requirement. A student must also earn a minimum grade of "B" for any law-related course taken outside of ASU Law if permitted.

Active participation in the Law and Sustainability Program

Each student must participate in one of the following activities for at least two semesters, or equivalent participation (or other activities as approved by the Program Directors):

• Sustainability Law Research Seminar
• The Mentorship Initiative in Sustainability Law (MISL)
• Active participation on the board of ASU Law’s Environmental Law Society (ELS)
• Extramural environmental or sustainability related moot court competition (by approval)
• Law and Sustainability-based externships (by approval)

Writing requirement

Each student must write a substantial paper on a topic related to Law and Sustainability. The paper must be at least 15 pages in length and written under the guidance of a member of the College of Law faculty. A paper written to satisfy the College of Law's graduate writing requirement or flexible writing requirement can fulfill this writing requirement, including a paper written as part of a law journal or a seminar course included on the list of Elective Courses above.

Faculty advisors

The Program Director is primarily responsible for the administration of the Certificate. Each student who registers as a candidate will also be assigned a faculty advisor from among the program faculty members.