Energy Environment and Land Use Program

Curriculum

Section Contents

Extensive & Interconnected

The fields of energy law, environmental law, and land use law, while distinct, have increasingly become interconnected as law and policy domains. The curriculum at Vanderbilt Law School allows students to focus on any these fields individually or gain a broader exposure to their intersections.

First-year students are introduced to agencies, statutes, and the central role they play in the American legal system in The Regulatory State. This required course, along with Property Law and Torts, lays the groundwork for upper-level electives devoted to EELU topics:

Decarbonization and the Public UtilityEnergy Law
Environmental Law I: Public Environmental GovernanceEnvironmental Law II: Private Environmental Governance
Land Use PlanningLocal Government Law
Sustainable CitiesWater Law

Skill Courses & Seminars

  • Short Courses

    The National Environmental Policy Act: Compliance & Litigation Short Course

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was the first major environmental law passed by Congress and remains the basic framework by which the federal government examines and accounts for the environmental consequences of its actions. This course trains students to critically assess federal agencies’ compliance with the obligations established by NEPA by learning the text of the statute, its implementing regulations, the review provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, and major relevant case law.

  • Skills Courses

    Climate Law & Policy LabEnvironmental Annual ReviewEnergy, Environment, and Land Use Legal Research Course
    Externship - In Nashville/Academic Year/SummerExternship - Outside Nashville/SummerExternship - Full Semester

  • Seminars

    Clean Energy Transition SeminarClimate Change Governance SeminarProperty Theory Seminar

Sample Registration

First yearRegulatory State, Property, Torts
Second year (fall)Climate Change Governance Seminar, Environmental Law I: Public Environmental Governance, NEPA Short Course, Land Use Planning
Second year (spring)Administrative Law, Climate Law & Policy Lab, Local Government Law
Second year (summer)Externship
Third year (fall)Energy Law, Property Theory Seminar, Environmental Law II: Private Environmental Governance, Private Capital and the ESG Transition Short Course
Third year (spring)Water Law, Clean Energy Transition Seminar, Sustainable Cities