Natural Resources & Environmental Law
Certificate Program
The Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificate Program allows students to gain a more comprehensive understanding of natural resources and environmental issues and problems. Its curriculum includes all law school courses concerning natural resources and the environment as well as several related graduate courses offered through other academic units on campus—Biology, Economics, Civil Engineering, Geography, Geology, Political Science, Public Administration, Architecture and Planning, and the Water Resources Program. As a result of their more extensive contact with members of the law faculty who specialize in resources and environmental programs, students who participate in the certificate program have a greater opportunity to become aware of and involved in ongoing research projects and legislative developments.
Certificate Requirements
Students have two options for obtaining the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificate:
Option One requires a student to become a member of the Natural Resources Journal through the write-on competition. As a staff member and editor of the NRJ, the student will earn twelve (12) credits toward graduation requirements, ten (10) of which will apply toward the certificate. In addition, NRJ members must successfully complete 10 hours of elective course work in the natural resources/environmental area and must fulfill the writing requirement by writing on a natural resources/environmental topic. Two faculty readers will be required; however, the first reader may waive the requirement of a second reader. Students may earn the ten (10) additional hours in a number of ways. Most students fulfill this portion of the requirements entirely with law school courses; an approved list of courses will be provided by the Natural Resources Committee. A student must take either administrative law or environmental law AND either federal public lands, natural resources law, or water law. If the student can demonstrate to the Natural Resources Committee that he/she has taken an equivalent law school class, these requirements may be waived. With prior approval from the Natural Resources Committee, graduate-level courses from other UNM departments may satisfy as many as six (6) hours of the course requirements. Credit hours from an externship in the natural resources/environmental field or a moot court related to natural resources/environmental issues may also be used to satisfy this requirement.
Option Two requires a student to earn twenty-one (21) natural resources/environmental law credits. A list of approved classes meeting the twenty-one (21) credits will be approved by the Natural Resources Committee. A student must take either administrative law or environmental law AND either federal public lands, natural resources law, or water law. If the student can demonstrate to the Natural Resources Committee that he/she has taken an equivalent law school class, these requirements may be waived. A portion of the twenty-one (21) credits must be earned through participation in two of the following: (a) a two-credit (2) or three-credit (3) externship in the natural resources/environmental field, (b) a graduate-level course dealing with natural resources/environmental issues in another UNM department or school, (c) a moot court related to natural resources/environmental issues, or (d) independent study in a natural resources/environmental area. Additionally, the student’s writing requirement must be written on a natural resources topic and must have two faculty readers; however, the first reader may waive the requirement of a second reader.
NOTE: Any courses taken outside of the Law School must be pre-approved by the Assistant Dean for Registration.
For questions regarding the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificate, please check with the Natural Resources Committee.
