Certificate in Animal Law

This page describes the requirements to obtain a certificate in Animal Law and provides links to the documents that must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by February 1st for a May graduation date or October 31st for a January graduation date.

Please also visit the Animal Law program page for general information about Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Documents:

Application

Paper Requirement (must submit a copy for each of 2 papers)

Certificate in Animal Law

The Certificate in Animal Law, awarded to qualified Lewis & Clark Law School students upon graduation, recognizes successful curriculum concentration in the field of animal law. In order to receive a Certificate, students who believe they fulfill the requirements must complete an application form and the Paper Requirement form linked in the Documents section above. Students qualify for a Certificate in Animal Law by satisfying the course, paper, and grade point average requirements set forth below.

A. Course Requirements

1. To obtain the certificate, a student must satisfactorily complete the following two courses:

• 100 Administrative Law
• 449 Animals in the Law

2. In addition, a student must complete eight (8) additional credits of approved Animal Law Courses from the following:

• 549 Advanced Animal Law
• 448 Animal Law Legislation and Lobbying
• 924 Animal Law Litigation
• 303 Animal Legal Philosophy
• 407 Animal Rights Law & Jurisprudence
• 451 Animals in Agriculture: Law and Policy
• 927 Aquatic Animal Law
• 446 Companion Animal Law
• 459 Crimes Against Animals
• 415 Food Law
• 409 International Animal Law
• 951 International Wildlife Law
• 593 Legal Research: Animal Law
• 442 Nonprofit Animal Law
• 921 Law and Ethics of Animal Testing
• 436 Wildlife Law
• A maximum of three (3) credits from the following may count toward the eight (8) additional credits:
  • 620-623 Animal Law Review
  • 810 Externships: Animal Law
  • 798 Farmed Animal Protection Project I
  • 799 Farmed Animal Protection Project II
  • 754 International Animal and Environmental Law Clinic

B. Paper Requirement

Two (2) substantial papers on Animal Law topics, approved by an animal law faculty member. Each paper must have a paper requirement document submitted with the professor’s signature.

C. Grade Point Requirement - Updated Fall 2023

The student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 in certificate courses. To obtain the Certificate “with Distinction,” a student must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.67 or better in courses that are taken and submitted to satisfy the requirements of the Certificate.

For students graduating in 2024 or 2025, if the average of all courses submitted for the certificate is below 3.0 but is at least 2.7, then the student will receive the certificate if all certificate courses taken in Fall 2023 or after and submitted for the certificate meet the 3.0 average.

Updated 9/11/23