Program Requirements

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Students must complete 24 credits with a minimum grade point average of 2.30/4.00 and comply with the LL.M. writing requirement in order to receive the Masters of Law in Ocean and Coastal Law degree. Many students pursue different paths in reaching this goal.

Required Courses

Admiralty I: A study of the problems of the maritime industry; the admiralty jurisdiction in the federal system; carriage of goods by sea; charter parties, general average; rights of seamen and maritime workers; collision; salvage, maritime liens; and limitation of liability.

Coastal Law: Three-quarters of the United States population is concentrated on the coastal margin where people meet the sea. Along the shorelines of thirty coastal and Great Lakes states is a preponderance of American industrial investment: manufacturing, refining, power generation, ship-building, off-shore oil and gas development and fisheries. These same shore-lines which house the population and its industry, also provide sources of beauty, recreation, food and safety for their inhabitants. Estuaries serve as the nursery grounds for coastal fisheries. Shellfish flourish throughout their full life cycle in tidal waters. Shorebirds stop to feed on tidal flats.

Development competes with the preservation of the natural beauty of the shoreline. The human and industrial pressures threaten and/or destroy ecological balances. This course examines the competing interests in the coastal zone, the problems of public and private ownership rights and the conflicts of legal jurisdiction. Shifts in federal policy, as well as varying policy considerations, are explored in depth. Specific state and federal statutes along with environmental concerns are integrated with the policy questions.

International Law: This course examines the law that governs the activities of nations. Included are such topics as what international law is and how it contrasts with domestic law, how international law is created, who is governed by and has rights under international law, how international disputes are resolved, and the role of the United Nations. In light of recent events, special emphasis will be placed on the law governing the use of force. The course is important for those wanting to understand the international legal system and global change, but also provides a useful foundation for many other courses, such as International Copyright, International Criminal Law, International Economic Law, International Environmental Law, International Human Rights Law, International Tax, and related seminars.

Law of the Sea Seminar: Participants examine and discuss advanced and specialized topics related to the law of the sea. UNCLOS and the development of the law of the sea; military uses of the sea.

Law of the Sea: An overview of the public international law of the sea. The course deals with legal regime of the maritime zones recognized by international law and the uses of the oceans. It focuses on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, customary law and recent agreements supplementing the Convention. After a historical introduction, such topics as: the territorial sea, straits, archipelagos, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, maritime boundaries, the high seas, the international seabed area, navigation, fisheries, marine scientific research, pollution and settlement of disputes will be examined.

Writing Requirement

Seminar or independent research paper approved by Faculty Chair.

Additional Courses

Students must have 24 credits to graduate, so the exact number of courses taken depends on how many credits are associated with each course.

International and Comparative Law Courses

Many students are most interested in our varied international and comparative law courses. Popular choices from past years, as well as some new course offerings, would include those listed below.

Comparative Law

International Business and Trade

International Law

Dispute Resolution

Immigration

Ocean and Coastal Law

Other Interesting Subjects

This listing includes some very innovative courses offered by UM that defy traditional categories: