2023 Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Law Doctor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 36,216 people earned a degree or certificate in law, making the major the #28 most popular in the United States.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
The Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 167 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for law students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Law
Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson School of Law to be the best value school for law students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of San Diego, Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law are $1,620 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drake University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Drake are $11,988 a year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a great value for law students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Lansing, WMU-Cooley Law School is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WMU-Cooley Law School are $14,440 per year.
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Out of the 167 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Roger Williams University School of Law landed the # 4 spot on the list. Roger Williams University School of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bristol.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Roger Williams University School of Law are $12,803 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, University of Virginia also did well on our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #6, Gonzaga University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Gonzaga are $14,878 per year.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UC Berkeley are $29,262 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Berkeley also is in the top 5% of our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Liberty University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.
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Seattle University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Seattle U graduate students pay an average of $14,310 in tuition and fees each year.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Northern Illinois University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in tuition and fees each year.
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Southwestern Law School landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Southwestern Law School is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Southwestern Law School graduate students pay an average of $18,430 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of South Dakota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at USD are $12,768 per year.
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Capital University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the suburb of Columbus, Capital is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Capital are $13,190 per year.
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Oklahoma City University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. OCU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oklahoma City.
OCU graduate students pay an average of $13,410 in tuition and fees each year.
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Fordham University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. Fordham U is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Bronx.
Fordham U graduate students pay an average of $23,846 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Fordham U also is in the top 20% of our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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With a ranking of #17, Mississippi College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students working on their doctor’s degree. MC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Clinton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at MC are $12,796 per year.
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With a ranking of #18, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students working on their doctor’s degree. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UPenn are $42,932 per year.
UPenn also claimed a spot on our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Inter American University of Puerto Rico - School of Law ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of San Juan, UIPR School of Law is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
UIPR School of Law graduate students pay an average of $16,505 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. Located in the city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNL are $19,541 a year.
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Loyola Marymount University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Loyola Marymount graduate students pay an average of $19,922 in tuition and fees each year.
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New York University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NYU are $38,206 per year.
NYU also claimed a spot on our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Creighton University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Creighton are $19,096 a year.
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Villanova University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
Villanova graduate students pay an average of $21,199 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #25, New York Law School did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students working on their doctor’s degree. New York Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at New York Law School are $24,000 a year.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Law students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 26 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 28 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 29 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 30 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 30 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 32 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA |
| 33 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 33 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 33 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
Law by Region
View the Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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Majors Related to Law
One of 4 majors within the area of study, law has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Law
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Legal Support Services | 11,545 |
| Legal Research | 6,874 |
| Non-Professional General Legal Studies | 4,407 |
| Legal Professions (Other) | 2,013 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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