Environmental and Land Use Certificate Seminar

**BE SURE TO READ THE “IMPORTANT INFORMATION” AT THE END OF THIS DESCRIPTION.**

Purpose: This class is designed specifically and exclusively for students enrolled in the Environmental and Land Use Law Certificate Program. The purpose of the class is to expose program members to an enriched level of critical legal and policy analysis of issues relating to fields relevant to the program subject matter.

Scope: The scope of the class is wide-ranging, covering not only environmental, natural resources, and land use issues, but also such methodological topics as law and economics, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, and scientific method. Because of the interplay in many settings between environmental, natural resources, and land use issues, the class enhances interdisciplinary awareness.

Registration: All registration for the Environmental Certificate Seminar is done through the Associate Dean for Environmental Programs (currently Professor Robin Craig) and the Records Office. All students planning to take the Certificate Seminar in a given semester—regardless of your status—should e-mail the Associate Dean, the Registrar, and the professor teaching the Certificate Seminar that semester BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. All students planning to take the Certificate Seminar in a given semester MUST show up to the first day of class, unless you have been excused for cause by the professor teaching the seminar.

Expectations: Successful completion of this class is a requirement for graduation with the Certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law (J.D. students) or the LL.M. in Environmental Law & Policy (LL.M. students). To successfully complete the class, students must: (1) demonstrate regular attendance and meaningful participation in the class for two semesters; (2) successfully complete all critical analysis assignments; and (3) deliver a high quality presentation on a topic approved by the Program Director.

Format: The class is conducted in the style of a graduate seminar. Speakers from COL faculty, from faculty in other FSU Departments, and from outside of FSU will make presentations on topics of relevance to the scope of the course. Students in their second semester will also make presentations.

Critical Analysis Assignments: Each presentation, whether by faculty, outside speakers, or students, will have a corresponding critical analysis assignment for all or a selected portion of the class. Critical analysis assignments require the student to examine the presentation in detail to consider and evaluate the depth of the speaker's research, logic of the speaker's legal and policy analysis, and merits of the speaker's proposals, if any. Details of each assignment will be delivered in class.

Student Presentations: J.D. students will present on their scholarship (generally, based on the student’s Upper Level Writing Requirement paper) in the SECOND semester of the Certificate Seminar.  LL.M. students will present on their scholarship (thesis or seminar papers) in BOTH semesters of the Certificate Seminar. Presentations are intended to prepare students to give talks at CLE and other conferences. As a result, all students are expected to confine their talks to 20 minutes and to educate an audience that is unfamiliar with the student’s topic.

Meeting Times: Students should keep the official meeting time and day open for the duration of the semester. Meeting times, however, will vary to accommodate speaker and student schedules. Also, the class will most likely not meet weekly.

Attendance: Attendance is required at all sessions unless excused in advance.

Grading: The class may only be taken for a grade. The grade will be awarded in the second semester and shall be based on in-class participation over the full two semesters (20%), performance on the critical analysis assignments (20%), and the second-semester presentation (60%).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE CERTIFICATE SEMINAR, CREDIT, AND GRADUATION REQUIRMENTS:

  • FOR J.D. STUDENTS, THE CREDITS FOR THE CERTIFICATE SEMINAR DO NOT COUNT TOWARD GRADUATION, even if you do not complete the Environmental Certificate requirements.  In other words, once you have completed the Environmental Certificate Seminar, you must complete a total of 91 CREDITS in order to graduate from the College of Law with the J.D. degree. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH CREDITS TO GRADUATE.
  • J.D. students pursuing the Certificate in Environmental Law & Policy receive no credit for the Environmental Certificate Seminar (and thus pay no tuition for the Seminar) until the second semester. All tuition is charged, and all three credit hours are awarded, in the second semester.
  • LL.M. students completing the LL.M. in Environmental Law & Policy take TWO semesters of the Environmental Certificate Seminar for a grade and for credit, earning 3 credits each semester. These six credits DO count toward completion of the requisite 24 credits for the LL.M. degree. In other words, LL.M. students need to complete only 18 credits of coursework beyond the Environmental Certificate Seminar.