{"id":155869,"date":"2026-07-06T13:40:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/06\/the-best-law-schools-for-environmental-law-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T13:40:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:40:44","slug":"the-best-law-schools-for-environmental-law-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/06\/the-best-law-schools-for-environmental-law-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Law Schools For Environmental Law (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For law students, environmental law isn\u2019t just some niche elective you take to feel virtuous these days. Between regulatory whiplash in Washington, climate litigation, ESG fights, and state-level enforcement, lawyers who understand environmental and administrative law are helping shape billion-dollar decisions. It\u2019s a practice area that\u2019s quickly becoming one of the legal profession\u2019s biggest battlegrounds. As agencies rewrite rules, courts reshape long-standing doctrines, and companies scramble for guidance, environmental law offers students a chance to build a career that\u2019s both relevant and in demand.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Jurist\u2019s preLaw magazine<\/a>\u00a0recently released its ranking of the best law schools for environmental law on its Environmental Law Honor Roll, highlighting schools for the strength of their programs. Here\u2019s the methodology that was used:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>preLaw magazine grades law schools based on the breadth of their curricular offerings. The scores are figured as follows: 30% for a concentration, 24% for a clinic, 12% for a center, 12% for an externship, 9% for a journal, 8% for a student group, 5% for a certificate and added value for additional offerings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Without further ado, according to preLaw magazine, these are the law schools that earned A+ grades for their environmental law programs (listed in alphabetical order):<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>George Washington University<\/li>\n<li>Georgetown University<\/li>\n<li>Harvard Law School<\/li>\n<li>Lewis &amp; Clark Law School<\/li>\n<li>Pace University<\/li>\n<li>Roger Williams University<\/li>\n<li>Texas A&amp;M Law<\/li>\n<li>UC Berkeley<\/li>\n<li>UCLA Law<\/li>\n<li>University of Arizona<\/li>\n<li>University of Colorado<\/li>\n<li>University of Minnesota<\/li>\n<li>University of New Mexico<\/li>\n<li>University of Oregon<\/li>\n<li>University of Wyoming<\/li>\n<li>Vermont Law School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>\u00a0to read all about the programs highlighted in this Honor Roll.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to all of the law schools that made the cut for this important ranking.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Top law schools for environmental law<\/a> [preLaw magazine \/ National Jurist]<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Staci-Zaretsky.jpg?resize=150%2C100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66762\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/author\/staci-zaretsky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Staci Zaretsky<\/a> is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to <a href=\"mailto:staci@abovethelaw.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/stacizaretsky.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">X\/Twitter<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Threads<\/a>, or connect with her on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/staci-zaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/07\/the-best-law-schools-for-environmental-law-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Best Law Schools For Environmental Law (2026)<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-single__featured-image post-single__featured-image--medium alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/EnvironmentalLaws19-1-300x205.jpg?resize=300%2C205&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>For law students, environmental law isn\u2019t just some niche elective you take to feel virtuous these days. Between regulatory whiplash in Washington, climate litigation, ESG fights, and state-level enforcement, lawyers who understand environmental and administrative law are helping shape billion-dollar decisions. It\u2019s a practice area that\u2019s quickly becoming one of the legal profession\u2019s biggest battlegrounds. As agencies rewrite rules, courts reshape long-standing doctrines, and companies scramble for guidance, environmental law offers students a chance to build a career that\u2019s both relevant and in demand.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Jurist\u2019s preLaw magazine<\/a>\u00a0recently released its ranking of the best law schools for environmental law on its Environmental Law Honor Roll, highlighting schools for the strength of their programs. Here\u2019s the methodology that was used:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>preLaw magazine grades law schools based on the breadth of their curricular offerings. The scores are figured as follows: 30% for a concentration, 24% for a clinic, 12% for a center, 12% for an externship, 9% for a journal, 8% for a student group, 5% for a certificate and added value for additional offerings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Without further ado, according to preLaw magazine, these are the law schools that earned A+ grades for their environmental law programs (listed in alphabetical order):<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>George Washington University<\/li>\n<li>Georgetown University<\/li>\n<li>Harvard Law School<\/li>\n<li>Lewis &amp; Clark Law School<\/li>\n<li>Pace University<\/li>\n<li>Roger Williams University<\/li>\n<li>Texas A&amp;M Law<\/li>\n<li>UC Berkeley<\/li>\n<li>UCLA Law<\/li>\n<li>University of Arizona<\/li>\n<li>University of Colorado<\/li>\n<li>University of Minnesota<\/li>\n<li>University of New Mexico<\/li>\n<li>University of Oregon<\/li>\n<li>University of Wyoming<\/li>\n<li>Vermont Law School<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>\u00a0to read all about the programs highlighted in this Honor Roll.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to all of the law schools that made the cut for this important ranking.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" id=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/top-law-schools-for-environmental-law\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Top law schools for environmental law<\/a> [preLaw magazine \/ National Jurist]<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Staci-Zaretsky.jpg?resize=150%2C100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66762\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/author\/staci-zaretsky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Staci Zaretsky<\/a> is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#4d3e392c2e240d2c2f223b28392528212c3a632e2220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/stacizaretsky.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">X\/Twitter<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Threads<\/a>, or connect with her on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/staci-zaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For law students, environmental law isn\u2019t just some niche elective you take to feel virtuous these days. Between regulatory whiplash in Washington, climate litigation, ESG fights, and state-level enforcement, lawyers who understand environmental and administrative law are helping shape billion-dollar decisions. It\u2019s a practice area that\u2019s quickly becoming one of the legal profession\u2019s biggest battlegrounds. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":155853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Staci-Zaretsky-5fZPKA.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}