WHITE PLAINS/ANNDALE ON THE HUDSON, N.Y. — This fall Pace Law School and The Bard Center for Environmental Policy will offer a combined degree program with a J.D. degree in environmental law at Pace University and a M.S. degree in environmental policy at Bard College.

"Environmental lawyers increasingly need strong policy skills to identify ways to solve today's complex environmental problems such as global climate change, agriculture and urban runoff," stated Lee Paddock, Director of Environmental Legal Studies at Pace Law School. "The Bard Center for Environmental Policy's innovative curriculum is specifically designed to provide students with the scientific, economic, public health and political system foundations needed for effective environmental policy making.  These skills, combined with the in depth legal environmental education available at Pace Law School, will give our students the training they need to formulate new ways of addressing the world's environmental challenges."

"This new venture will allow students to deepen their understanding of the scientific, economic, and political foundations of environmental policy-making with the legal and regulatory dimensions, while enabling them to earn two highly regarded professional degrees at an accelerated pace, " said Joanne Fox-Przeworski, BCEP’s director and former director of the United Nations Environment Programme for North America. "The renowned faculty of the Pace Law School bring extensive expertise to our program on legal issues spanning the Hudson Valley and the global arena."

The Pace-Bard Program requires four years in residence, with two and a half years spent at Pace and one and a half years at Bard. Students in the program must earn 84 credits to obtain a J.D. from Pace Law School (10 of which may be transferred from Bard) and 44 credits to obtain an M.S. from Bard.

Pace was one of the first law schools in the country to develop a comprehensive and integrated curriculum in environmental law. The program continues to grow and prosper, and this year, U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked the program number three in the nation. With five faculty members devoting all or most of their teaching to environmental law, Pace Law School offers 25 courses in the area, covering a variety of topics unmatched by any other law school. Currently, Pace offers a joint degree program with Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Pace’s hallmark is a dedicated faculty who have been pioneers in establishing environmental law and who continue to serve as national and world leaders.

The Bard Center for Environmental Policy was created in 1999 to promote education, research, and public service on critical issues pertaining to the natural and built

environments. The primary goal of the Center is to improve the quality of environmental policies by facilitating the use of the best available scientific knowledge in the policy-making process at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The Center's graduate program was launched in the fall of 2001 with the goal of producing leaders who can translate the science behind environmental and natural resource problems into creative, feasible policies. The program leads to either a Master of Science degree or a professional certificate in environmental policy. BCEP’s unique modular program offers an intensive course of study, grounded in the sciences as well as economics, law, ethics, and political institutions and including communication skills, leadership and financial training, and internships. Graduates are prepared for careers in nonprofit organizations, government, and the private sector.

For more information about Pace Law School, call 914-422-4210, e-mail admissions@law.pace.edu , or log on to www.law.pace.edu. 

For more information about the Bard Center for Environmental Policy or the Graduate Program, call 845-758-7071, e-mail cep@bard.edu , or log on to www.bard.edu/cep .

Founded in 1976, Pace Law School is located in White Plains, N.Y., 20 miles north of New York City. The School offers the J.D. program for full-time, and part-time day, and evening students. Its post-graduate program includes the LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees in Environmental Law and an LL.M. in Comparative Legal Studies. Pace has one of the nation's top-rated environmental law programs and its Clinical Education Program also is nationally ranked, offering clinics in domestic violence prosecution, securities arbitration, criminal justice, and disability rights.