Skip to main content

JD Degree Requirements

Layout Builder

​​​Required courses are subject to change. For more​ information, please view the latest Academic Regulations or contact the Office of the Registrar: registrar@vermontlaw.edu​​.​


​​87 credits​​

Required Courses

All of the following courses:
Course Code Course Title Credits
REQ7255 Appellate Advocacy 3
REQ7104 Civil Procedure I 3
REQ7103 Civil Procedure II 2
REQ7112 Constitutional Law 4
REQ7130 Contracts 4
REQ7140 Criminal Law 3
LIT7210 Evidence 4
REQ7120 Legal Analysis and Writing I 1
REQ7122 Legal Research 1
REQ7125 Legal Writing II: Theory and Practice 3
REQ7185 Legislation and Regulation 3
REQ7265 Professional Responsibility 3
REQ7160 Property 3
REQ7150 Torts 4

REQUIRED Courses

At least two (2) of the following courses:
Course Code Course Title Credits
BUS6235 Corporations 4
CRI7262 Constitutional Criminal Procedure 4
CRI7307 Criminal Practice and Procedure 4
FAM7710 Estates 4
FAM7715 Family Law 3
PUB7500 First Amendment Law 3
BUS6280 Sales 2

Experiential Courses

At least six (6) ​​credits from the following experiential courses:
Course Code Course Title Credits
BUS6219 Entrepreneurship and Legal Lab Practicum (VLSell) 2/4/6/12
CLI9302 Environmental Advocacy Clinic 6/9/12
CLI9310 South Royalton Legal Clinic FT 12
CLI9311 South Royalton Legal Clinic - Summer 6 or 9
CLI9312 South Royalton Legal Clinic PT 6
CLI9318 Environmental Justice Clinic 6/9/12
CLI9319 Climate Justice Practicum 4
CLI9321 Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic 4/6/9/12
CLI Advanced Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic 4/6/9/12
CLI9323 Advanced Environmental Advocacy Clinic 6/9/12
CLI9333 Advanced South Royalton Legal Clinic 6/12
CLI9348 Advanced Environmental Justice Clinic 4/6/9
CLI9349 Advanced Climate Justice Practicum 4
CLI9411 Semester in Practice (SIP) 12
CLI9412 Semester in Practice (SIP) Class 2
CLI9425 JD Part-Time Externship 4-8
CLI9427 Energy Clinic 4 or 6
CLI9428 Food and Agriculture Clinic 6/9/12
CLI Advanced Food and Agriculture Clinic 6/9/12
CLI9430 Judicial Externship 12
CLI9431 Judicial Externship Class 2
CLI9437 Advanced Energy Clinic 4 or 6
ENV5535 Transnational Environmental Practicum 4
PUB7525 Legislative Clinic 6

Advanced Legal Writing project

One (1) of the following advanced legal writing project courses:
Course Code Course Title Credits
ADR6450 Advanced Dispute Resolution Writing Seminar 2
BUS6262 Social Enterprise Law 2
BUS6330 Sports Law 2
CLI9302 Environmental and Natural Resources Clinic 6/13
CLI9310/9312 South Royalton Legal Clinic 6/13
​CLI9450 Land Use Clinic 4/6
CRI7305 Advanced Criminal Law Seminar 2
DIV7606 Civil Rights Seminar 2
DIV7607 Constitutional Rights Litigation 3
DIV7610 Race and the Law Seminar 2
DIV7615 Sexual Orientation and the Law Seminar 2
ENV5110 Ecology of Food and Agriculture 3
ENV5212 Climate Change and the Law 3
ENV5236 Advanced Natural Resources Law 2
ENV5250 Watershed Management and Protection 3
ENV5303 Advanced Energy Writing Seminar 2
ENV5304/5306 Comparative Environmental Law Research Seminar 2/1
ENV5305 Environmental Ethics Seminar 2
ENV5307 Animals and the Law 3
ENV5310 Environmental Health Law Seminar 2
ENV5335 Extinction and Climate Change 2
ENV5337 Frontier Issues in Environmental Law and Policy 2
ENV5342 Legal Adaptation to Global Warming 2
ENV5345 Land and the Law of Takings 2
ENV5349 Regulating the Marine Environment 2
ENV5365 Climate Change: The Power of Taxes 2
ENV5408 The Law of Animals in Agriculture 3
ENV5493 Agricultural Biotechnology and the Law​​ 2
HIS7555 American Legal History: The Search for National Identity 2
INT7407 Comparative Law: Comparative Legal Systems 3
INT7413 European Union Law 3
INT7428 International Regulation of Trade 3
INT7430 Spanish Constitutional Law 2
INT7437 Introduction to Chinese Law 2
JUR7307 Culture and the Environment 2
JUR7323 Law and Popular Culture 2
JUR7330 Moral Philosophy for Professionals Seminar 2/3
JUR7332 Law, Lawyers and Religion 2/3
JUR7350 Women and the Law Seminar 2 +1 IRP
JUR7390 Jurisprudence Tutorial 1/2
PUB7550 National Security Law 3
PUB7580 State and Local Government 2
WRI7900 Independent Research Project 1/7
WRI7950 Law Review 2/4
WRI7960 Vermont Journal of Environmental Law​ 2/4

This page is offered as a quick, simplified glance of a complex topic. Please consult the Academic Regulations for full and official degree requirements.​

two VLS students smile for the camera
JD Programs
The JD degree program prepares students to engage in the general practice of law or to pursue a career in environmental or energy law, international law, criminal law, or some other specialty. 
Cornell Library
JD Learning Outcomes
Results. The JD that provides options, focus, and outstanding advantages from VLS.
Outdoor Class
How to Apply for JD Programs at VLS
Applications for any person with a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.​​
JD/LLM Joint Degree in Energy Law, Vermont Law School
JD/LLM Joint Degree in Energy Law
Earn both a Juris Doctor (JD) and an LLM in Energy Law in less time than is required to obtain each degree separately.
AJD students pose on a stone wall on the front lawn at VLS
Accelerated Two-Year JD
Vermont Law School's Accelerated Juris Doctor program will save you a year's tuition and living expenses. And you'll enter (or re-enter) the work force a year sooner.
JD Externships at Vermont Law School
JD Externships
Vermont Law's extensive externship program provides JD students a range of opportunities to obtain practical experience in a wide variety of legal and judicial settings part time or full time.