With a Masters in Legal Studies Degree, a world of employment opportunities opens up.
If you live in California, many schools have a program to get your desired degree.
There is estimated to be a 10% growth in legal professional jobs between 2021 and 2031.
1 University of California Los Angeles
UCLA is a diverse public university with more than 40,000 students from over 100 countries.
The main campus is located in Westwood, which is near Hollywood.
More than 1000 students are enrolled in the law program.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
At UCLA, the M.L.S. Program: Professional Advancement through the Study of Law is designed for those who need a working knowledge of the law but do not intend to practice law.
The course has the option of being done online, on campus, or as a hybrid.
It can be completed in 9 months or 2–4 years of part-time study.
The course has 9 specializations, so it can be tailored to your requirements.
The degree is divided into three phases.
Areas of specialization include:
- Business Law
- Employment and HR Law
- Entertainment & Media Law
- Health Law & Policy
- Law & Technology
- Criminal Law
- Government & National Security
- Public Interest Law
- Environmental Law
This is a 26-unit program and the tuition is $65.000.
Scholarships and financial aid are available.
Contact Information
- Address: 385 Charles E Young Dr E Los Angeles, CA
- Phone: 310-825-2080
- Website: Visit School Website
2 University of San Diego
The staff is made up of distinguished internationally recognized professionals in the legal field, including judges.
The total enrollment is 8,800.
It is a small private Catholic university.
The student population is diverse.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The University of San Diego offers a Master of Science in Legal Studies (MSLS)
It can be completed full-time in one year or up to 4 years part-time.
Concentration options include:
- Criminal Law
- Business and Corporate Law
- Environmental and Energy Law
- Intellectual Property
- International Law
- Taxation
Day and evening classes are available in person only.
Tuition is $52,000 for 13 credits.
The full course is 26 credits.
Contact Information
- Address: 5998 Alcalá Park San Diego, CA 92110
- Phone: (619) 260-7584
- Website: Visit School Website
3 Monterey College of Law
Monterey College of Law is a private non-profit college.
It is a small college with 235 students in all the legal programs.
Four campuses are available in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, and Santa Rosa.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The Masters of Legal Studies (MLS) degree is offered.
It is a 36-credit program.
It can be taken online or in person.
Students are admitted for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
It takes 2 years to complete.
Required courses:
- Contracts (6)
- MLS Thesis (2)
- Torts (6)
- Constitutional Law (6)
- Legal Research (2)
- Criminal Law (3)
- Legal Writing (2)
- Core Mediation Training (2)
Tuition is $24,500 for 12 credits.
Contact Information
- Address: 100 Colonel Durham St, Seaside, CA 93955
- Phone: (831) 582-4000
- Website: Visit School Website
4 Loyola Law School Los Angeles
Loyola Law School is a part of Loyola Marymount University.
It is a small private Catholic university located in downtown Los Angeles.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The Master of Science in Legal Studies degree (MLS) is offered.
You choose a specialization or a flexible curriculum you design.
Evening and day classes are offered.
Specializations offered:
- Business Law
- Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
- Criminal Justice
- Entertainment & New Media Law
- Sports Law
This is a 24-unit course.
Require courses:
- First-Year JD Class
- Legal Methods: Writing & Analysis
The yearly cost of tuition is $37,000.
Contact Information
- Address: 919 Albany Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
- Phone: 213.736.1000
- Website: Visit School Website
5 The UC Law San Francisco
This was the first school in the UC system.
Established in 1878.
It is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.
The total population is less than 1200 students.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
It can be completed in one year, full-time or part-time between 1-1/2 and 4 years.
It can be taken hybrid or fully online.
Specialization is available in:
- Business
- Compliance
- Criminal Justice
- Dispute Resolution
- Employment
- Environmental Law
- Government
- Health Law
- Immigration
- Intellectual Property
- International Law
- Litigation and Legal Process
- Social Justice
- Start-Ups & Entrepreneurship
- Tax
Tuition is about $50,000.
The MLS is a 24-unit degree.
Contact Information
- Address: 200 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Phone: (415) 565-4600
- Website: Visit School Website
6 Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University is a private school that was founded in 1901.
It offers online studies as well as a campus in downtown San Francisco.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The MLS Program is a 30-unit course.
Tuition is $660 per unit, or $19,800, making it very affordable.
21 units are required for legal courses, such as:
- Constitutional Law
- Contract Law
- Property Law
- Torts
- Administrative Law
- Process
- US Legal System and Process
An exciting and current selection of electives is offered.
This is an online program.
Contact Information
- Address: 536 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94105
- Phone: 415-442-7800
- Website: Visit School Website
7 Abraham Lincoln University
Abraham Lincoln University was founded in 1996 to allow students to get an affordable education, all the way to a law degree.
By keeping courses online, it is more flexible and more affordable.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
Masters of Science in Law
This program has 8 core courses and 2 electives.
Electives cover a wide range of legal areas of interest.
Core courses are:
- Contracts 1
- Legal Research
- Contracts 2
- Legal Writing
- Torts 1
- Torts 2
- Criminal Law
This is an online program.
Tuition for the program is $22,500 for two years for a total of 24 credits.
Contact Information
- Address: 500 N. Brand Blvd, Suite 2000, Office 12., Glendale, CA 91203
- Phone: 213-252-5100
- Website: Visit School Website
8 Pepperdine University Online
Pepperdine University is a private Christian university in Southern California.
It offers undergraduate courses on campus.
It has 3600 undergraduate students.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
This is an online Master of Legal Studies Degree (MLS).
This is a 26-unit program.
It will include courses and residencies.
The program is taught in six-week sessions.
The course is usually completed in between 16–24 months.
Required courses:
- Introduction to US Law and Legal Systems
- Torts
- Contracts
- Legal Research and Writing for Non-Lawyers
- Residencies:
- MLS Residency 1-Law, The Legal System, and Society
- MLS Residency 2- Law in Practice.
Electives in general or in a specific concentration.
Tuition for the entire course is $66,820.
Contact Information
- Address: 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90263
- Phone: 844-707-9208
- Website: Visit School Website
9 Stanford University Law School
Known for its college culture, Stanford University looks to the future.
Stanford Law School has more than 500 students enrolled.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The Master of Legal Studies Program consists of 26 units.
All degree requirements should be completed in one year and the full program in two years.
Tuition is $76,000 per year.
This is a program on campus.
Students are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week.
At least 9 quarter units must be taken per semester.
Legal Writing is a required course in the first semester.
Contact Information
- Address: 59 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305-8610
- Phone: 650-723-2465
- Website: Visit School Website
10 Trinity Law School
Trinity Law School is a private Christian school that is the Law School for Trinity International University.
Courses Offered / Programs Name
The course at Trinity Law School is a Masters in Legal Studies (MLS).
All courses are taught online in 8-week cycles.
They offer a general MLS degree as well as 8 specific tracts.
Specific tracts:
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Bioethics
- Church and Ministry Management
- Contracts and Negotiation
- Criminal Justice
- Human Resources Management
- Human Rights
- Nonprofit Organizations
The program at Trinity is a 30-unit program.
The program can be completed in between 12–20 months.
The tuition for the program is $22,500.
All applicants must have a Bachelors Degree.
Contact Information
- Address: 2200 N. Grand Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92705
- Phone: (800) 922-4748
- Website: Visit School Website
Schools Summary Table
Legal Studies Salary Information
Some of the occupations that are open to those with a Master’s in Legal studies are paralegal, contract negotiator, and HR Director.
In California, the average salary for a paralegal is between $60,000 and $95,000.
The salary for a contract negotiator is $96,755 to $118,645 in California.
The median salary in California for an HR Director is $203,102.
| Item | Percent |
|---|---|
$92K |
|
$10K |
|
$11K |
Average Salary in California
| City Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| Anaheim | $102,494 |
| Concord | $103,788 |
| Fresno | $92,605 |
| Fremont | $115,802 |
| Lancaster | $102,401 |
| Sacramento | $99,906 |
| Santa Clarita | $101,755 |
| San Jose | $115,987 |
| San Francisco | $115,525 |
| Los Angeles | $102,956 |
Regional Salary
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield, CA | 290 | $64,460 | $30.99 | $98,070 | $35,010 |
| Chico, CA | 160 | $50,300 | $24.19 | $60,430 | $40,810 |
| El Centro, CA | 70 | $65,100 | $31.3 | $99,840 | $34,510 |
| Fresno, CA | 770 | $62,040 | $29.83 | $96,700 | $40,080 |
| Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 40 | $65,110 | $31.3 | $101,130 | $47,610 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 16,560 | $78,720 | $37.84 | $107,790 | $48,160 |
| Merced, CA | 60 | $57,910 | $27.84 | $83,450 | $40,350 |
| Modesto, CA | 220 | $65,410 | $31.45 | $90,580 | $46,860 |
| Napa, CA | 60 | $72,170 | $34.7 | $101,240 | $54,700 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 490 | $73,820 | $35.49 | $99,140 | $48,240 |
| Redding, CA | 130 | $58,220 | $27.99 | $84,150 | $36,390 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 1,810 | $66,140 | $31.8 | $92,930 | $48,500 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA | 2,770 | $75,060 | $36.09 | $104,250 | $51,420 |
| Salinas, CA | 220 | $65,530 | $31.51 | $93,470 | $48,330 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 4,500 | $72,260 | $34.74 | $104,600 | $47,640 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 6,720 | $92,860 | $44.64 | $134,880 | $59,030 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 1,850 | $103,850 | $49.93 | $156,270 | $62,560 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA | 210 | $61,210 | $29.43 | $93,700 | $33,680 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 120 | $76,340 | $36.7 | $104,760 | $43,510 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 320 | $66,290 | $31.87 | $95,300 | $45,490 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | 260 | $72,430 | $34.82 | $102,040 | $50,250 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | 350 | $64,640 | $31.08 | $95,020 | $47,840 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 90 | $73,610 | $35.39 | $99,260 | $47,920 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA | 90 | $61,790 | $29.71 | $84,750 | $40,200 |
| Yuba City, CA | 30 | $63,280 | $30.42 | $92,440 | $47,390 |
* 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
Leave a Reply