American Indian Law Certificate Program
Colorado Law offers an American Indian Law Certificate demonstrating the completion of a concentrated course of study in the legal issues facing Native peoples and American Indian tribes. This Certificate is attractive to legal, tribal, and governmental employers, as well as employers seeking to do business with tribes and tribal members.
Certificate requirements include: (1) at least 92 credit hours (89 is required for the J.D.), and (2) at least 18 of the 92 credit hours in designated Indian law and related courses. Visit Rules of the Law School for complete details.
To register for the American Indian Law Certificate, please complete the following steps:
(1) Consult with the Director of the American Indian Law Program (Professor Kristen Carpenter) about your planned selection of courses;
(2) Complete the registration form when registering for your second year of law school.
Course Requirements:
Required courses after the first year (14 credits):
From the American Indian Law Curriculum
- Advanced American Indian Law Seminar (the seminar rotates among topics with recent topics including Indigenous Peoples in International Law; Economic Development & Resources in Indian Country; Indian Country & the Regulatory State)
- Cultural Property Law
- Indigenous Peoples in International Law
- Jurisdiction in Indian Country
- National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition
- Independent Legal Research Project on an American Indian law topic (upon approval of the AILP Director)
- Externship with an American Indian law focus (upon the approval of the AILP Director)
- Any course from the University of Colorado’s Native American Indigenous Studies (“NAIS”) graduate certificate (upon approval of the AILP Director)
- American Indian law course at another law school on a topic not regularly offered at Colorado Law (upon the approval of the AILP Director)
From the Environment and Natural Resources Law Curriculum
- Foundations of Natural Resources Law and Policy
- Environmental Law
- Water Law
- Public Land Law
- Advanced Natural Resources Law Seminar
- Energy Justice
- Climate Change
- Climate Justice
- Mining & Energy
- Oil & Gas
- Oil & International Relations
- Energy Law & Regulation
- Renewable Energy Finance & Development
From the Government and Public Law Curriculum
From the Litigation, Negotiation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Curriculum
From the Business & Commercial Law Curriculum
From the International and Comparative Law Curriculum
From the Labor & Employment Curriculum
From the Property, Trusts and Estates & Land Use Curriculum
From the Family & Juvenile Justice Curriculum
From the Legal Theory, Jurisprudence, and Social Policy Curriculum
- Jurisprudence
- Power, Ethics, and Professionalism
- Race and the Law
- Law and Religion
- Law and Economic Development
From the Research & Writing Curriculum
From the Intellectual Property, Technology, and Telecommunications Curriculum
Other
- Other classes that may be approved by the AILP Directors and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.