JD/MES Environmental Studies: College for Liberal & Professional Studies (LPS) at the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) at Penn
The aim of the JD/Masters in Environmental Studies program is to train leaders who can blend the professional concerns of law and environmental studies. Graduates acquire valuable tools for understanding the interplay between environmental issues and the law at the local, state, national, and international levels. Students in this program are prepared to assume positions of leadership in environmental law and policymaking in both the public and private sector.
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). Penn Law gives credit for four non-law courses taken in Environmental Studies toward the JD degree. Students must complete twelve 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 LSAT is sufficient for both departments; no additional testing is required.
Additional Information:
- Penn LPS - Master’s of Environmental Studies Admissions
- Contact: Yvette Bordeaux, Director, Professional Masters Programs in Earth and Environmental Science
- To talk through scheduling/registration details and how this joint-degree program might complement your JD from Penn Law, please contact Amanda S. Aronoff, L’95, Associate Director of Cross-Disciplinary Programs at aramanda@law.upenn.edu.
