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Legal Research Major

Legal Research

195 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
5,581 Master's Degrees Annually
#260 in Popularity

The following table lists how many legal research graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 9,029
Graduate Certificate 1,566
Doctor’s Degree 340
Bachelor’s Degree 155
Basic Certificate 30
Associate Degree 21

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to legal research and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in legal research should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

When studying legal research, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

As you progress with your legal research degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

People with a legal research degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Law Professors 12.3% $111,140
Lawyers 8.2% $120,910

155 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
65% Percent Women
33% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 195 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in legal research in 2021, making it rank #260 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 65% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of legal research majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 9
Black or African American 16
Hispanic or Latino 13
White 97
International Students 5
Other Races/Ethnicities 15

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Legal Research, too. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students.

Some degrees associated with legal research may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to legal research have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 0.5%
Master’s Degree 7.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 1.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 57.0%
Doctoral Degree 32.6%
Post-Doctoral Training 0.7%

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 4 2
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 3 0
Bachelor’s Degree 85 17
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 370 62
Post-Master’s 40 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 48 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 15 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to legal research.

Major Number of Grads
Law 35,647
Legal Support Services 10,507
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 4,745
Legal Professions (Other) 2,229

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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