Energy, Environment & Land Use Program

Overview Curriculum Initiatives Scholarship Who We Are

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:

Energy LawEnvironmental Law I: Public Environmental Governance
Environmental Law II: Private Environmental GovernanceLand Use Planning
Energy & Environmental FederalismSustainable Cities
Water LawLocal Government 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 ReviewExternship - Full Semester
    Externship - In Nashville/Academic Year/SummerExternship - Outside Nashville/Summer

  • Climate Change Governance Seminar

    Climate change presents profound governance challenges from local to global scales. This seminar will broadly explore how public and private institutions are acting to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to limit the extent of climate change (mitigation) and to prepare for the effects of climate change that cannot be avoided (adaptation).

  • Clean Energy Transition Seminar

    This seminar will focus in depth on the legal and governance issues surrounding the impending energy transition in the 21st century, which focuses on decarbonization of the energy sector. We will examine how throughout history energy transitions have sought to address society's dependence on legacy resources, while also attracting the capital necessary to promote new innovations.

Have Questions?

Connect with the EELU Program coordinator.

Contact Us