Environment and Law LLM

Program Overview

The LLM Environment and Law combines law and environment, exploring environmental law and the legal regulation of the environment. The program equips graduates with critical evaluation, interdisciplinary, analytical, and communication skills for careers in environmental law, policy, and advocacy.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This interdisciplinary Master's degree combines law and environment. The LLM Environment and Law is jointly delivered by the Law School and the Lancaster Environment Centre, enabling students to explore the environmental aspects of the law and the legal regulation of the environment. The program emphasizes a balanced duality between Law School modules, LEC modules, and a 15,000-word dissertation, allowing students to pursue their own interests while developing a comprehensive understanding of environmental law.

Outline:

Core Modules:

• Dissertation (60 credits): This module requires students to conduct independent research on a legal or environmental topic of their choice.
Students must define a research topic, submit a dissertation proposal, conduct a literature review, demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the chosen legal issues, construct a cohesive argument, and outline the implications of their findings. The dissertation has a 15,000-word limit.
• Environmental Law: This module explores the development and effectiveness of environmental law in England and Wales.
It examines topics such as water pollution, the history of environmental law, green criminology, and the protection of the countryside. Students also learn how the aqueous, atmospheric, and terraneous environments are protected by law.
• International Environmental Law: This module examines the international legal response to global environmental challenges, such as climate change, marine pollution, and biodiversity conservation.
Students analyze the socio-economic, political, and scientific implications of environmental problems and assess the impact on law and policy-making.
• Perspectives on Environment and Development: This module provides a theoretical foundation for understanding development and the environment from a geographical perspective.
It examines the relationship between development theory and nature-society relations in the developing world, exploring topics such as theories of development, indigenous knowledge, biotechnology, food security, and the political economy of natural resources.
• Research Methods in Law: This module equips students with the skills and understanding of research and writing methods at an advanced level.
Students learn about ethical research, research methods, designing research projects, approaching research and writing analytically and critically, and referencing correctly. The module also covers critical writing and developing a personal voice in writing.

Optional Modules:

• Business and Human Rights
• Chemical Risk Assessment
• Climate Change and Society
• Corporations and Sustainable Development
• Corporations in International Business Law
• Food Security, Agriculture and Climate Change
• Global Change and the Earth System
• Independent Research Module
• International Business Law and Institutions
• International Criminal Law
• International Law
• International Terrorism and the Law
• Legal Advice Clinic
• StreetLaw
• The Law of the United Nations

Assessment:

The program's assessment methods vary by module but generally include:

• Dissertations: This is a major component of the program and requires extensive independent research and writing.
• Essays: Students write essays on various topics covered in the modules.
• Examinations: Some modules are assessed through written examinations.

Teaching:

• The program is taught by research-active academics from the Law School and the Lancaster Environment Centre.
• The teaching approach is international in scope and comparative by nature.
• The program benefits from modules from the Lancaster Environment Centre which include, for example, field studies addressing the modules’ subject matter.
• The program encourages students to build a network of academics, peers, and alumni.

Careers:

• The LLM Environment and Law provides students with the skills necessary for careers in various sectors, including environmental law, policy, and advocacy.
• The program develops critical evaluation skills, interdisciplinary skills, analytical skills, and communication skills.
• The LLM is also an ideal stepping stone to PhD study and academia.

Other:

• The Law School is home to the Centre for International Law and Human Rights, the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, the Centre for Law and Society, and the Centre for Child and Family Justice.
• The Lancaster Environment Centre, along with Rothamsted Research and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, is part of the Graduate School for the Environment.
• The program provides students with access to the expertise of academics researching in natural and social sciences, and legal and socio-legal issues.
• The program is designed to help students broaden their experience, deepen their understanding, and prepare for their next step.
• The program is international in scope and comparative by nature.

| Location | Full Time (per year) | Part Time (per year) | |---|---|---| | Home | £11,500 | £5,750 | | International | £23,875 | £11,935 |