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MASTER OF ENERGY REGULATION AND LAW (MERL)

A master's degree from Vermont Law & Graduate School is different from degrees at other places. Instead of studying theories about how policies work, our master's candidates learn the law and how to use it to effect change. By studying advocacy, regulations, legislation, and markets, they acquire the tools to create more just systems.

  • Acquire the tools to create a more sustainable world

  • Graduates get jobs as Energy Policy Analysts, Regulatory Specialists, and Directors of Land Use and Sustainable Development

  • Complete your master's degree program in as few as 12 months or up to 5 years

  • Experiential learning opportunities

  • Earn your degree online, on campus, or a hybrid of both

  • Scholarships available

31

Full time environmental faculty

4

Environmental law clinics

55+

Courses related to the environment and environmental law

Climate change. Land use. Water justice. International trade. Sustainable food and energy systems. Our Master of Climate and Environmental Policy (MCEP) students deliver solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing our world today.

  • Focus on the policy, scientific, and communications aspects of environmental law with an added emphasis on economics and advocacy.
  • Innovative curriculum with traditional law offerings and MCEP-specific courses in writing and advocacy.
  • Experiential learning opportunities with state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and advocacy groups.
  • Graduates get jobs as policy analysts and leaders.
  • Courses include Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Ecology, Environmental Issues in Business Transactions, Water Resources Law, Climate Change Law, Ocean and Coastal Law, Global Energy Justice, and more.
  • Complete the program in as little as 12 months on campus or 18 months online.
  • Earn your degree online, on campus, or a hybrid of both.

Fossil fuel dependency. A warming planet. Smart-grid technology. The rise of alternative energy markets and infrastructures. Our Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) students receive intensive training at the intersection of energy and law, regulation, policy, and economic analysis.

  • Program focused on law and policy governing energy use, production, and transmission.
  • Students receive practical training in public advocacy and writing for a legal and policy audience.
  • Faculty include former high-level government officials and environmental litigators.
  • Graduates get jobs in energy regulation, clean-energy startups, and more.
  • Courses include Energy Law and Policy in a Carbon-Constrained World, Environmental Economics and Markets, and more.
  • Complete the program in as little as 12 months on campus or 18 months online.
  • Earn your degree online, on campus, or a hybrid of both.

The food movement grows here. Our Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP) students become food and agriculture advocates and entrepreneurs, creating innovative legal tools to support the new food movement.

  • Most comprehensive sustainable food, agriculture, and environmental law program in the country.
  • Offers students a powerful marriage of agriculture policy, food safety, and environmental law.
  • Clinical training in one of the nation's first food and agriculture clinics.
  • Courses include Public Health Implications of U.S. Agriculture and Food Policy, Law and Policy of Local Food Systems, The Modern Farm Bill, and more.
  • Complete the program in as little as 12 months on campus or 18 months online.
  • Earn your degree online, on campus, or a hybrid of both.

U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks VLS as one of the top environmental law programs.

Vermont Law School is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738.

Accreditation

Vermont Law School's master's program is regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).