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Studies & Degrees in Environmental Law

Environmental law is the body of rules that governs how people, companies and public authorities use and protect air, water, soil, nature and the climate. It combines national legislation, European Union law and international treaties. Most students reach it as a specialisation within a law degree or as a master's degree taken after one.

What students learn

The subject builds on general public law and adds the rules that are specific to the environment. The European Commission notes that the European Union has adopted many laws on water, nature, air and waste, and that it has over 200 legal acts to monitor in 27 countries. Typical course topics are:

  • Pollution control: air quality, water and waste
  • Nature and biodiversity protection, including the marine environment
  • Climate change law and policy
  • Environmental impact assessment, planning and land use
  • Liability for environmental damage and environmental crime
  • International environmental law

Procedural rights are part of the syllabus too. The Aarhus Convention, to which the EU and its 27 Member States are parties, covers access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

Qualifications and levels

A law degree first. Environmental law is rarely a bachelor's degree of its own. In Spain the route starts with a bachelor's degree (grado) in Law of 240 ECTS credits. At the Universidad de Navarra, for example, the Grado en Derecho is an official degree of 240 credits, taught over four years in Spanish in Pamplona. In the United States, becoming a lawyer usually takes seven years of full-time study after high school: four years of undergraduate study followed by three years of law school, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Master's degree. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. The Universitat Rovira i Virgili teaches a Máster universitario en Derecho Ambiental of 120 ECTS credits, online and in Spanish, with 25 places for new students. In Ireland, University College Cork (UCC) offers an LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law that takes one year full-time or two years part-time. The full-time programme has 90 credits, including a 25-credit dissertation, and modules such as Climate Change Law and Policy, International Environmental Law and Marine Environmental and Natural Resources Law. UCC also offers a Postgraduate Diploma of 60 credits that can be completed in nine months full-time. The fees UCC listed in October 2026 for the full-time LLM were €9,914 for EU students and €20,914 for non-EU students.

Admission. For its LLM, UCC normally asks for a Second Class Honours Grade I in a law degree, but also encourages applicants with other qualifications or relevant professional experience. Applicants who are not native speakers of English must meet the university's English language requirements.

Professional qualification. A specialisation does not replace the qualification each country requires to practise law. In the United States, lawyers typically need a law degree and a state licence, which usually requires passing a bar examination. In Spain, universities teach a separate Máster Universitario en Acceso a la Abogacía y la Procura; at the Universidad de Navarra it has 90 ECTS credits and lasts 15 months, five of them in work placements.

Short courses. Lawyers who work across borders often need legal English. English for Law, in Foxrock (Ireland), gives one-to-one and online Legal English courses delivered by legal professionals.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists six schools for environmental law: two in Spain, two in Ireland, one in Germany and one in Ukraine. They include the Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona), the Universidad de Huelva, University College Cork, the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and the Lviv Ivan Franko National University School of Law. Course offers change, so ask each school which environmental law courses it teaches this year.

The language of instruction follows the country: Spanish at the Spanish universities named here, English in Ireland. Law is tied to a legal system. Students who plan to practise should study in the country where they want to work, or choose a programme centred on international and European law, which applies across borders.

Careers

According to the BLS, environmental lawyers deal with issues and regulations related to the natural world. They may work for advocacy groups, waste disposal companies or corporations, and in government agencies they help to ensure compliance with the law. UCC names similar destinations for its graduates: the legal professions, governmental and regulatory agencies, environmental NGOs, compliance and sustainability roles in industry, academia and environmental consultancy.

There are no separate official employment figures for environmental lawyers. For the profession as a whole, lawyers held about 863,700 jobs in the United States in 2025, and the BLS projects employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a law degree to study environmental law?

Usually, yes. University College Cork normally asks for a law degree for its LLM, but it also encourages applicants with other qualifications or relevant professional experience.

How long does a master's degree in environmental law take?

One to two years. The LLM at University College Cork takes one year full-time or two years part-time, and the 120 ECTS master's degree at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili corresponds to two academic years of 60 credits.

Can I practise as a lawyer with a master's degree in environmental law?

Not on that basis alone. Each country sets its own requirements to practise law, such as a law degree and a bar examination in the United States. Ask the bar association of the country where you want to work.

In which language is environmental law taught?

In the language of the legal system concerned. The programmes named here are taught in Spanish in Spain and in English in Ireland.