Do you think knowledge of the law only pertains to lawyers and others in the legal system?
The fact is that knowledge of the legal system is important in nearly every field there is today.
Those who hold Master’s degrees in legal studies can command higher salaries and improve their chances of gaining better positions, moving their careers forward rapidly.
On average, holding this degree gives you a raise in salary of $10,000 to $15,000 annually.
Legal studies is the study of law for non-lawyers.
It can be general or can pertain only to one field.
Some programs pertain to education, medicine, the environment, international trade, etc.
If you love law, see how this knowledge can benefit you, and are ready to further your education, read on for some places to start.
The Schools
Master of Legal Studies programs are fairly new and finding an in-person one in Wyoming isn’t possible.
The future will see more, but for now, there are online opportunities that can get you to the same place.
Start with this list.
1 University of Oklahoma - College of Law
With three campuses and an online alternative, this school can provide the learning experience that suits your needs.
This school is designated by the Carnegie Foundation as the Highest Research Activity institution, placing it in the highest tier of comprehensive research universities in the nation.
Courses Offered
You can earn your Master’s in Legal Studies degree in 18 months.
The total number of credits is 32-33. Concentrations include Indigenous Peoples Law, Energy & Natural Resources Law, and Healthcare Law.
An example of the classes in the Energy Law concentration include:
- Foundations of Contract Law for the Energy Industry
- Introduction to Property Law and Natural Resources
- Negotiations, Communication, and Ethics
- Introduction to Petroleum Engineering and Geo-Sciences
- Project Economics and Finance
- Midstream Oil and Gas law
- Oil and Gas Development on Public Lands (Federal, State, and Indian Lands)
- Oil and Gas Law
- Oil and Gas Regulatory Practice
- Legal Research for the Energy Industry
- Oil and Gas Contracts
- Mineral Title Examination
- Real Estate Transactions
- Water Law for the Energy Industry
- Oil and Gas Environmental Law
The cost of a degree at this school will depend on whether you are an Oklahoma resident.
Residents pay $562 per credit and non-residents pay $1028 per credit.
The entire cost is $18.546 for residents and $33,924 for non-residents.
Contact Information
- Address: 300 W Timberdell Rd, Norman, OK 73019
- Phone: 405-325-0311
- Website: Visit School Website
2 Emory Law
Emory offers nine colleges for students.
These include nursing, law, theology, and medicine.
The student population includes over 800 undergraduates and 7740 graduate students.
There are over 60 languages spoken by the students at this school.
Alumni number over 165,000.
Courses Offered
The 30-credit master program is designed to be taken at your own pace and includes four concentration paths.
These are Business Law and Regulation, Health Care Law, Policy, and Regulation, Employment Law and Human Resources, and Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Technology Law.
The degree costs $2145 per credit or a total cost of $64,350.
Contact Information
- Address: 201 Dowman Drive Atlanta, GA 30322
- Phone: 404-727-6123
- Website: Visit School Website
3 Regent University
This school has earned the Best Christian College designation as well as the safest campus in Virginia title.
Their mission is to help students excel in both mind and spirit.
Courses Offered
The goals of this Master in Law degree are to communicate knowledgeably and effectively with others on legal issues, evaluate legal issues related to topics ranging from insurance to cybersecurity, research American law, including cases and statutes, and provide an astute legal perspective to those you lead and serve.
There are 14 concentration paths you can follow, including a general studies one.
The courses for General Law Studies include Foundations of Legal Thought, American Legal System & Writing, Legislation and Regulation, and Constitutional Law and Policy.
These core classes are required for all concentrations.
Other concentrations include nonprofit law, human resources law, immigration law, healthcare law, cybersecurity, and business law.
The entire degree cost is $21,450.
Contact Information
- Address: 1000 Regent University Drive RH 225L Virginia Beach, VA 23464
- Phone: 800-335-4409
- Website: Visit School Website
4 University of New Hampshire
Courses Offered
The degree at this school is designed to take anywhere from 1-5 years, based on the pace you feel comfortable with.
There are a total of 30 credits required and concentrations include International Criminal Law and Intellectual Property Law.
The Master’s course in Intellectual Property Law requires courses in
| Graduate Legal Research and Information Literacy | 1 | |
| LIP 894 | American Legal Process and Analysis I | 3 |
| LIP 895 | American Legal Process and Analysis II | 2 |
| Required Elective Courses | 7 | |
| Select three from the following | ||
| Copyright Law | ||
| Fundamentals of Intellectual Property | ||
| Copyright Licensing | ||
| Technology Licensing | ||
| Patent Law | ||
| Patent Practice and Procedure I | ||
| Trademarks and Deceptive Practices | ||
Additional electives can be from any area.
Residents pay $1250 per credit and non-residents pay $1400 per credit.
This works out to a total cost of $37,500 for residents and $43,000 for non-residents.
Contact Information
- Address: 2 White St. Concord, NH 03301
- Phone: 603-641-4313
- Website: Visit School Website
5 Northeastern University
This school was founded in 1898 and today is a global network of 13 campuses, 49 alumni communities, and 3,500+ employer partners.
They are considered a leader in their method of education, which is a combination of classroom and hands-on experience.
Climate change is a major concern for this school and much of their research is designed to help lead the world into a more sustainable future.
Courses Offered
You will be looking at 27-31 credits to complete the Master’s in Legal Studies degree at Northeastern University.
The course will take you two years. Concentrations include Business Law, Health Law, Human Resources Law, and Intellectual Property Law.
You will need to take Intro to Legal Studies and Law and Legal Reasoning.
Core classes also include Law of Information and Records, Negotiation and Advocacy, Data Regulation and Compliance, Law and Strategy, Law and Organizational Management, and Legal Foundations of Public Policy.
You will then need to choose electives in one of five concentrations or general electives that you see fit.
The cost of this degree is $35,160.
Contact Information
- Address: 416 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02
- Phone: 617-373-5899
- Website: Visit School Website
6 Cleveland State University
Located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, this university affords many networking opportunities.
This is true for both in-person students as well as online students.
The school consists of eight colleges and offers 1000 courses in 200 majors.
Some of the organizations this school has partnerships with include the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the City of Cleveland, and NASA Glenn Research Center.
Courses Offered
The Master of Legal Studies degree has core classes in Contracts, Torts, Legislation/Regulation, Legal Writing, Property, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Legislation/Regulation, and Criminal Law.
Every semester a Legal Writing class is required.
One course that is unique to this school is an Animal Law track that trains those who work in animal welfare.
The online cybersecurity course is one of the most popular and helps prepare students for a career in the fast-growing area.
The degree requires two years and 30 credits to complete.
The cost for the entire program is $35,160.
Contact Information
- Address: 1801 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 4411
- Phone: 216-687-2000
- Website: Visit School Website
7 University of Arizona
This school offers over 150 majors and 90 percent of the student population receives financial help.
Of the over 53,000 students who attend each year, 11,112 are graduate students.
The student-to-faculty ratio is 17:1, making the classes small and intimate.
The school was established in 1885, 27 years before Arizona became a state.
This was the school that invented tree0ring research.
Courses Offered
The 30-credit Master in Legal Studies degree at the University of Arizona takes anywhere from one to two years to complete.
You can do the general course or specialize in Compliance and Legal Risk Management, Criminal Law and Policy, Environmental Law and Policy, Family and Juvenile Law, Health Law and Policy, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy, Intellectual Property, International Trade and Business Law, Mining Law and Policy, Tax Law and Policy.
There are 14 concentrations available for this degree.
These are Dispute Resolution, Legal Risk Management, Criminal Law and Policy, Environmental Law, Family and Juvenile Law, Health Law, Human Rights Law, Indigenous Peoples Law, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Law & Economics, Legal Paraprofessional, Mining Law, and Cannabis Law.
All students must first take core classes.
These classes are Procedure (civil, criminal, and administrative procedure), The American Common Law System I (torts, contracts), The American Common Law System II (property), The American Public Law System (constitutional law), and Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research.
Once the core classes are complete, you choose your specialization and take 18 credits specific to that concentration.
The online program will cost you $21,000.
Contact Information
- Address: 1201 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 8572
- Phone: 520 621 2211
- Website: Visit School Website
8 Fordham University
Founded in 1841, Fordham has a mission that includes striving for social justice.
The first class consisted of six students, a far cry from the 17,144 students that attend each year now.
There are now five campuses and an online population.
The law school serves over 1,500 in-person students and 109 online students yearly.
Courses Offered
The Master’s in Legal Studies program allows students to follow one of four tracks, which are the Financial Services Track, Health Care Track, Human Resources Track, and General Track.
You can expect classes such as Risk assessment, anti-money laundering laws, Anti-corruption laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Federal securities laws, Crisis management, Building a culture of compliance, and Understanding statutes and regulations.
All students must complete a Capstone writing project before graduation.
The cost of the entire program is just over $99,000.
Contact Information
- Address: 150 W 62nd St., New York, NY 10023
- Phone: 718-817-3800
- Website: Visit School Website
Schools Summary Table
Legal Studies Salary Information
As with any career, the salary you can expect is dependent upon what area of the country you work in.
In Wyoming, those with this degree average $52,516 annually.
This is $25 an hour.
The highest-paid positions come in at $75,809 a year, or $36 an hour.
At $18 per hour, the lowest-paid positions will see you making $37,906 annually.
| Item | Percent |
|---|---|
$80K |
|
$88K |
|
$97K |
Average Salary in Wyoming
| City Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| Casper | $88,631 |
| Rock Springs | $87,522 |
| Cheyenne | $86,782 |
| Sheridan | $88,076 |
| Cody | $88,076 |
| Laramie | $86,690 |
| Riverton | $87,245 |
| Gillette | $84,010 |
| Carpenter | $85,396 |
| Moran | $93,529 |
Regional Salary
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casper, WY | 80 | $56,060 | $26.95 | $75,760 | $42,050 |
| Cheyenne, WY | 150 | $54,890 | $26.39 | $71,900 | $40,000 |
* 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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