Michigan schools that offer a Master in Legal Studies program provide the opportunity for graduates to work in various careers that often require employees to have legal knowledge and training.
They work in a legal field, or perhaps in a business career that requires employees to have legal expertise, but not to hold a law degree as an attorney.
Students who complete the best Michigan Master of Legal Studies programs often choose to work in careers that are related to health care, government, non-profit organizations, and other careers.
Students who earn a Michigan Master’s in Legal Studies have program concentration options that may vary from one school to another school.
Choosing a general legal studies graduate degree option or specializing in an area of interest that advances a student’s career gives them an understanding of complex legal laws and issues and the skills related to how to navigate them.
They learn about regulations, disputes, and how to work with attorneys and other professionals.
The Master in Legal Studies programs in the state of Michigan are ideal for students who want to start their careers.
The programs are also a good opportunity for working professionals who want to advance their careers or who want to change careers to have a new career opportunity.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the salary for people who work in legal professions, as of May 2023, is higher than the median annual salary for all occupations, which is $48,060.
1 Michigan State University
Michigan State University, founded in 1855, was the nation’s premier land-grant university by 1862.
Its original name was the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan.
One of the first three buildings where the school held classes was in a horse barn.
The school’s name changed several times, until, in 1964, it became Michigan State University.
The school continuously ranks at or near the top in a variety of categories, including learning communities, top-rated programs, nationally recognized faculty, and its diverse and inclusive community.
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency named Michigan State University a gold-status veteran-friendly school for eight consecutive years.
Today, Michigan State University reaches students across the country and provides opportunities for students around the globe.
The school, located in East Lansing, offers more than 400 academic programs, including a Master of Legal Studies.
Courses Offered
The Master of Legal Studies program is a one-year, 30-credit program that the school offers through the Michigan State University College of Law.
The school allows up to three years for students to complete the program.
Students accepted into the program have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from a recognized educational institution.
They also demonstrate an interest in legal study and aptitude for legal study through the submission of the required personal statement.
The school considers each program applicant’s academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, their professional experience, and personal goals for legal study.
Students choose one course from options that include:
- Research, Writing, and Analysis
- Research, Writing, and Analysis: Intellectual Property Perspective
- Research, Writing, and Analysis: Criminal Law Perspective
- Research, Writing, and Analysis: Social Justice Perspectives
The Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs may approve other Research, Writing, and Analysis programs.
Students choose two courses from the following options:
- Criminal Law
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law II
- Property
- Torts I
- Contracts
- Business Enterprises
The program requires students to choose electives that meet the minimum 30 credits requirement.
Students choose their electives from the courses that are offered to Juris Doctor students (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M), and Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) students.
Some examples of the elective courses include:
- International Business Transactions
- Antitrust Law
- Media Law
- Patent Litigation
- Regulatory Leadership in Food Law
- International Commercial Arbitration
Some other electives include Sports Law, Biotechnology Law Seminar, Regulation of Agricultural Production of Marketing, and Intellectual Law Survey.
Contact Information
- Address: Hannah Administration Building, 426 Auditorium Road, Room 150, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824-2603
- Phone: 517-355-3300
- Website: Visit School Website
2 Wayne State University
Five physicians witnessed the crude medical treatment that was available on Civil War battlefields.
The school indicates that in 1868, they committed themselves to advancing health education and health care in Detroit, Michigan.
The physicians founded the Detroit Medical College.
The school today is a 200-acre campus in Midtown Detroit.
It serves more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students from across the U.S. and from 70 countries.
The addition of several departments and several undergraduate programs in the early days of the school helped the college’s growth.
The graduate school opened in 1933.
It was the same year that the Graduate School, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, Medicine and Pharmacy, and the College of Education became united into a university organization by action of the Detroit Board of Education.
The Law School, which was established in 1927 as the Detroit City Law School, became part of the university in 1937.
The school offers several programs through the Wayne State University Law School.
Recognizing that students want or need flexibility in their studies, the school offers its Master of Studies in Law (MSL) in a 100 percent online format.
Wayne Law is recognized as consistently having the lowest tuition in the state of Michigan.
Courses Offered
The 30-credit interactive Master of Studies in Law program at Wayne State University is designed for career-focused students.
The flexible program includes a variety of learning activities and experiences.
Students engage in academically rigorous coursework after choosing one of three concentration options.
Concentration options include the Human Resources concentration, the Corporate Compliance concentration, and the Health Law concentration.
Students enroll in either the fall term or the winter term.
They usually complete the program in 24 months.
The Director of Graduate programs works with each Master of Studies in Law student to design a program that meets their goals and needs.
Students in all three concentrations take courses that include:
- Working with Lawyers
- Survey of the Common Law
- Civil Procedure and Introduction to Dispute Resolution
- Government Organization and Regulation
The Corporate Compliance concentration requires students to complete courses that include:
- Regulatory Compliance
- International Business Compliance
- Corporate Governance
- Environmental Compliance
- Privacy and Cybersecurity Law
- Fair Business Practices
Students who choose the Corporate Compliance concentration are not allowed to take more than three credits outside of the Corporate Compliance concentration.
They also complete a required Corporate Compliance Capstone.
The Health Care concentration requires that students complete courses that include:
- Healthcare Organizations and Administration
- Administrative Law for Non-Lawyers
- Health Insurance and Healthcare Fraud or Legal Issues in Public Health
- Legal Issues in Public Health
- Social Justice in Public Health
- Legal Issues in Bioethics
Students also complete either the course Patient Privacy and Control of Patient Medical Records, or the course Regulating the Conduct of Healthcare Providers.
The Human Resources Concentration requires students to complete courses that include:
- Employment Law for Human Resources
- Labor Law and Practice
- Employment Discrimination
- Human Resources Capstone
- Employment Law: Legal Obligations
- Employment Law: Workplace Management
Contact Information
- Address: Law School, 471 Palmer Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 48202
- Phone: 313-577-3933
- Website: Visit School Website
Schools Summary Table
| Rank | School | |
|---|---|---|
|
#1 | Michigan State University |
|
#2 | Wayne State University |
Legal Studies Salary Information
Earning a Michigan Master’s in Legal Studies prepares students to choose from a variety of career options.
The degree also prepares working professionals for career advancement or a career change.
The annual salary for people who have a Master’s in Legal Studies is higher than the salary for many other career fields.
One career option for people with a degree is arbitrator, mediator, and conciliator.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the 2023 median salary as being $71,540.
The state and the city where arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators work affect salary, as does things like the length of time on the job.
Graduates of a Michigan Master in Legal Studies program often choose to work in healthcare positions, such as healthcare administrators.
The average salary for healthcare administrators in Ann Arbor, Michigan is $157,381.
Healthcare administrators who work in Pontiac, Michigan make an average annual salary of $154,466.
The average salary for healthcare administrators in Grand Rapids is $148,791.
The annual salary for healthcare administrators in Ann Arbor ranges from $101,924 to $205,055.
The city where healthcare administrators work is not the only thing that affects salary.
Some other things that affect the salary for healthcare administrators in the state of Michigan include their education, certifications, years of experience, additional skills, and performance.
Some students who complete a Master of Legal Studies program in Michigan work in the non-profit sector, in positions such as CEO of a non-profit organization.
People in the U.S. who work in this position earn an average salary of $329,442, as of August 27, 2024.
Non-profit organizations in Michigan pay a CEO an average salary of $325,160. A CEO of a non-profit organization in Saginaw, Michigan makes an average annual salary of $308,688.
Compare this salary to a CEO of a non-profit organization or agency in Ann Arbor, which is an average of $338,088.
A CEO of a non-profit organization who works in Detroit earns an average of $332,078, and $312,641, as of August 27, 2024, in Eureka, Michigan.
Environmental Managers is another career option for graduates of a Michigan Master of Legal Studies program.
People who choose this career and who work in Pontiac, Michigan earn an average salary of $138,790.
The Pontiac, Michigan average salary is higher than the national average of $137,825 for environmental managers.
Some people who complete a master’s in legal studies program in Michigan may choose to work as an environmental manager in Detroit, Michigan, where the average salary is $138,928.
Compare this salary to the average salary for environmental managers in Lansing, Michigan, which is $133,415.
| Item | Percent |
|---|---|
$82K |
|
$91K |
|
$10K |
Average Salary in Michigan
| City Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| Farmington | $92,790 |
| Royal Oak | $93,067 |
| Ann Arbor | $94,823 |
| Waterford | $93,159 |
| Troy | $92,790 |
| Wyoming | $89,647 |
| Westland | $93,622 |
| Livonia | $92,882 |
| Dearborn | $93,159 |
| Sterling Heights | $92,882 |
Regional Salary
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Arbor, MI | 270 | $68,950 | $33.15 | $97,340 | $40,750 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 4,040 | $66,370 | $31.91 | $90,430 | $44,260 |
| Flint, MI | 240 | $55,780 | $26.82 | $78,580 | $38,490 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 860 | $68,230 | $32.8 | $85,750 | $45,570 |
| Jackson, MI | 60 | $58,900 | $28.32 | $79,860 | $38,750 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 220 | $57,520 | $27.65 | $78,170 | $38,880 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 400 | $60,780 | $29.22 | $81,140 | $40,000 |
| Midland, MI | 70 | $76,600 | $36.83 | $110,480 | $47,340 |
| Monroe, MI | 40 | $59,660 | $28.68 | $84,330 | $38,810 |
| Muskegon, MI | 70 | $54,700 | $26.3 | $73,160 | $39,500 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor, MI | 50 | $57,240 | $27.52 | $73,830 | $44,120 |
| Saginaw, MI | 100 | $56,000 | $26.92 | $75,920 | $38,610 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Legal Studies Programs by State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
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