Overview

JD/MS, JD/PhD

Stanford joint degree programs really do help law students begin to "think like a client." The interdisciplinary background I'm building will help me be a better lawyer and a more effective advocate. – Brian Shillinglaw, JD/MS, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) '08

Addressing the ecological and resource challenges of our rapidly changing world requires more than a passion for the environment. It takes a mastery of analytical tools, strong problem-solving skills, and a commitment to thinking and working across disciplines as diverse as law, biology, history, economics, psychology, and engineering.

Stanford's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) allows students to combine expertise in the natural and social sciences, engineering, law, and business to address pressing environmental and natural resource problems. Formally part of the School of Earth Sciences, E-IPER offers a rigorous joint degree program that pushes students to understand and use natural and social science approaches, skills, and concepts to re-imagine and address legal and policy questions with a fresh mind-set and novel analytical tools. By giving students the opportunity to delve into both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of environmental issues, course work prepares them to analyze environmental and resource problems from multiple perspectives and use diverse analytical approaches from multiple disciplines. For example, a student interested in exploring the potential for open-ocean fin-fish aquaculture can use classic economic analysis as well as business market studies, coupled with biological risk assessment and legal gap analysis, to understand and evaluate both the potential for and important environmental issues raised by such a venture.

E-IPER students who earn a JD/MS are poised to move into a multitude of potential professional opportunities that merge law with environmental concerns, including academia, policy development, private industry, NGOs, government, or in-house lawyering. There is also be a JD/PhD option for students who want to conduct in-depth, original research in preparation for careers in academia or government, or with an NGO.

Resources

In addition to E-IPER, Stanford offers many resources, opportunities, and experiences to support an education that blends legal skills and perspectives with a deep understanding of environmental issues, including:/

• Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program
  Provides critical interdisciplinary course offerings for joint degree students, including core courses, such as Environmental Science for Managers and Policy Makers and an Environmental Workshop, as well as specialized courses, such as Law, Science, and Policy of the California Coast. Also provides faculty mentors and an institutional bridge between joint degree students and peer departments, schools, and faculty across campus.
• Woods Institute for the Environment
  Sponsors several weekly interdisciplinary seminars, including the Environmental Policy Forum, the Energy Seminar, the Water Seminar, and the Sustainable Built Environment Seminar, that expose students to research and disciplinary approaches from a wide variety of disciplines and provide an informal, collegial environment for students and faculty to discuss cutting-edge research.
• Initiative on the Environment and Sustainability
  Takes action on Stanford's commitment to interdisciplinary research and problem-solving to address the world's most pressing environmental issues.

SLS Faculty

• Margaret "Meg" Caldwell
• Deborah A. "Debbie" Sivas
• Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson
• Thomas Heller
• Michael Wara

E-IPER Faculty

Joint degree advisors are selected from the E-IPER Affiliated Faculty

Course Requirements

The joint JD/MS degree program requires a total of 130.5 quarter units and may be completed in three years. Joint JD/MS degree requirements for the 2009-2010 academic year are published in the Stanford Bulletin and are updated periodically throughout the year on the E-IPER web site. Students interested in learning more about the JD/PhD in Environment and Resources should contact E-IPER.

In addition to requirements for the JD, specific requirements for the Joint MS include the completion of two required core courses: IPER 338, Environmental Science for Managers and Policy Makers (same as OIT 338 and LAW 608; if offered IPER/OIT 339 and LAW 619 also fulfill this requirement), and IPER 290, Capstone Project in Environment and Resources. The Capstone Project, which is a new requirement, may be completed with an interdisciplinary team and will be publicly presented to the E-IPER community. For more information on the Capstone Project and its requirements, please visit the E-IPER website.

In addition to the two required courses, students must complete a total of 8 additional courses. A minimum of four of these courses should be chosen from one selected Joint MS Course Track: Energy; Climate and Atmosphere; Cleantech; Land Use and Agriculture; Oceans and Estuaries; Freshwater; Human and Environmental Health; or Sustainable Built Environment. The other four courses may be selected from the same or another Course Track or from elsewhere in the University. Students are encouraged to take courses at the 200-level or above and must maintain a 'B' average. Specific restrictions on courses that may count for the Joint MS are listed in the Bulletin and the E-IPER web site.

The student's program of study is subject to the approval of the student's advising team, consisting of a faculty member from the applicable professional school and one E-IPER faculty member. The two degrees are conferred simultaneously when the requirements for both the JD and the MS in Environment and Resources have been met.