Join the pioneering JD/Masters in Environmental Studies program and blend legal studies with environmental concerns. In this innovative and cross disciplinary program, you’ll acquire valuable tools for understanding the interplay between environmental issues and the law at the local, state, national, and international levels.

As a graduate of this program, you will be prepared to assume positions of leadership in environmental law and policymaking in both the public and private sector. This degree is offered through the College for Liberal & Professional Studies (LPS) at the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) at Penn.

Students can earn both degrees in four years (in certain instances, a student who can take summer courses may be able to complete the program in three years). The University of Pennsylvania Law School gives credit for four non-law courses taken in Environmental Studies toward the JD degree. Students must complete 12 courses to get the MES. Three approved law courses can count towards the 12 course requirement, thus reducing the number of non-law courses the joint degree student takes at LPS to nine (9).

Students apply separately to each department. Applications to the MES program are welcomed contemporaneously with the Law School application or during the 1L year.

The Environmental Studies Program and the Law School will accept either the GRE, GMAT, or LSAT.

For more information, admitted or current JD students should contact Amanda S. Aronoff. Applicants or prospective applicants to the Law School should contact contactadmissions@law.upenn.edu.