B.A./J.D. Environmental Justice

Joseph A. Iannone, Dean

St. Thomas University has developed a unique, interdisciplinary program to prepare students for the practice of environmental law in the twenty-first century. Environmental lawyers, whether in private practice, government, or public interest, must have a sound grounding in the technical issues and concepts that form the basis for environmental regulatory programs and which frequently arise in environmental litigation, transactions and site cleanups.

The Environmental Justice curriculum provides the aspiring environmental attorney with the ability to understand the science and technology that is essential to assessing and developing solutions to environmental problems. Unlike other programs at other universities, the Environmental Justice curriculum bridges the gap between the technical and legal training in a sequence of specially designed courses focusing on environmental justice.

Law, science, and other disciplines come together in this six-year curriculum through which carefully selected students are prepared to accomplish the day-to-day tasks of environmental law practice: compliance counseling, administrative enforcement, environmental litigation, and environmental policy.

The Environmental Justice curriculum is an honors program. Students accepted into the program must have a GPA of 3.00 and combined SAT score of 1140, or composite ACT score of 25. In addition, the student must receive a score of 155 or higher on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Additionally, students must submit their official high school transcripts, or college transcripts if transferring into the program, an essay on an assigned subject, and three letters of recommendation.

Junior Year
Fall

SCI 222 or Bioregions
SCI 242 Ecology
ECO Environmental Economy
PHI 310 or Biogregionalism/ Sust. Envtl. Ethics
PHI 362 Environmental Ethics
CIS 305 Advanced Microcomputers
ENV 001 Environmental Justice

Spring
RST Religious Studies
HIST, COM, ENG 386 or America: Present
HIST 444 U.S. History 20th Century
POS 306 or Florida Government
POS 390 Environmental Politics
PSY 315 Ecology & Behavior
ENV 002 Environmental Justice

Total: 30 Credits

Senior Year (First-Year at St. Thomas University School of Law)
Fall
Civil Procedure I 3 credits
Contracts I 3 credits
Property I 3 credits
Torts 3 credits
Legal Research & Writing 3 credits

Spring
Civil Procedure II 3 credits
Contracts II 3 credits
Property II 3 credits
Torts II 3 credits
Advanced Legal Research & Writing 2 credits

Total: 31 credits

Fifth & Sixth Years:

Required Second & Third Year Law Courses (36 credits- See Law School Catalog)

Recommended Electives ( 9 hrs. from courses below):
Administrative Law 3 credits
Environmental Law 3 credits
International Environmental Law 3 credits
Land Use Plan Sem. 2 credits
Legal Accounting 2 credits
Real Estate Transactions 2 credits
Remedies 3 credits

New Required Law School Minimester Course:
Human Rights & the Environment 1 credit

Other Law School Electives ( 15 credits)