Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy

The Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy (the “Energy Certificate”) allows the Paul M. Hebert Law Center to officially recognize students who have demonstrated substantial competence in the study of energy law and related subject matter. It helps prepare participating students for careers in energy law and related fields by ensuring that they take appropriate coursework and providing exposure to relevant applied learning experiences. Students who satisfy the requirements for both the Energy Certificate and the D.C.L. may earn both credentials at graduation.

Course and Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility

Any LSU law student in good standing who has completed at least one full year of full-time law study with a grade point average of 2.6 or higher is eligible to participate in the certificate program. An interested student must complete an application. The information from the application and a required orientation session will be used to assist the student in planning an appropriate course of study.

Requirements

In order to earn the Energy Certificate, a student must:

Apply to participate in the certificate program before the first day of classes of the student’s final year before graduating from the Law Center. Interested students are encouraged to apply to the certificate program in the first semester of their second year of law study.
Successfully complete at least 18 credit hours within the Certificate Curriculum, as further set forth below. Course credit toward satisfaction of the Certificate Curriculum, both mandatory and elective courses, will be granted only when the student earns at least a 2.4 for the final course grade. A student’s grade point average in coursework satisfying the Certificate Curriculum must be at least a 3.2. A student’s overall grade point average in all Law Center coursework must be at least a 3.0.
1. Mandatory Courses (12 credit hours):
  1. LAW 5205 - Mineral Rights (3)+
  2. LAW 5220 - Energy Law And Regulation (3 credits)
  3. LAW 5402 - Administrative Law (3)
  4. LAW 5411 - Introduction to Environmental Law (3)
2. Elective Courses (6 or more credit hours):
  1. LAW 5206 - International Petroleum Transactions (3)+
  2. LAW 5207 - Advanced Mineral Law (3)
  3. LAW 5413 - International Environmental Law (3)+
  4. LAW 5414 - Climate Change Law (3)+
  5. LAW 5425 - Selected Issues in Gulf Oil & Gas Development (3)
  6. LAW 5731 - Legal Aspects of Coastal Areas (2)
  7. LAW 5805 - Energy Law Seminar (2)
  8. LAW 5809 - Seminar on Pooling, Utilization, and Joint Operating Agreements (2)
  9. LAW 5840 - Oil and Gas Seminar (2)
  10. LAW 5895 - Seminar in Natural Resources Law (3)
  11. LAW 5896 - Administrative and Environmental Law Practice Seminar (2)
  12. LAW 5901 - Individual Supervised Research or LAW 5902 - Individual Supervised Research (1), if approved in advance (paper topic in energy law; supervised by an energy law faculty member; includes law journal/review papers)*
  13. ENVS 4266 - Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy (School of the Coast and Environment) (4266) (3) (ENVS course)
  14. Graduate-Level Course(s) (3), if approved in advance for cross-enrollment by the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and for satisfaction of the certificate requirements by the Vice-Chancellor and the Director of the Laborde Energy Law Center*
  15. Apprenticeship Week course(s), if designated** (e.g., Offshore Lease course in January 2014) (1)
  16. LSU Lyon course(s), if designated** (1–3 credits)+

*Graduate-level and independent research credits must be approved by the Laborde Energy Law Center Faculty. Please submit requests to Alanna Clanton, alanna.clanton@law.lsu.edu.

**Certain Apprenticeship & Lyon Courses may be designated as approved energy certificate electives at the time of registration.

+ These courses may currently be used to satisfy the requirements of the D.C.L. as well as the Energy Certificate.

Not all courses are offered every semester.

Write a research paper in the area of energy law. The paper may be written either within one of the seminars in the Certificate Curriculum or as an independent research paper supervised by an energy law faculty member (includes law review/journal papers).
Participate in at least fourteen hours of approved applied learning experiences related to energy law and policy. The goal of all applied energy-related learning experiences outside of the classroom is to increase students’ overall competence in the field. Applied learning experiences may include, either individually or in combination:
- A skills course#
- An externship
- An internship
- Conferences/symposia related to energy law (e.g., the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute held at LSU or the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute)
- Apprenticeship week courses related to energy law#
- Field trips related to energy law

The approval for credit toward the applied learning experience requirement will either be granted in advance for certain group activities sponsored by the Laborde Energy Law Center, such as field trips, or will be granted for individual experiences and opportunities, such as summer internships, by the Director of the Laborde Energy Law Center after consultation with other energy law faculty. Applied learning experience hours are clock hours, not credit hours.

#Courses used to satisfy the 18-credit-hour Certificate Curriculum may not also be used to satisfy this requirement.

Perform ten or more hours of service to the Laborde Energy Law Center. Service opportunities may include assisting with arrangements for a speaker visiting the Law Center, a symposium sponsored by the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, or programs of the Mineral Law Institute.