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Legal Studies Major

Legal Studies

2,775 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
334 Master's Degrees Annually
#119 in Popularity

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

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 2,803
Master’s Degree 396
Basic Certificate 385
Associate Degree 313
Undergraduate Certificate 53
Graduate Certificate 47
Doctor’s Degree 2

People with careers related to legal studies were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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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.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to legal studies:

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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.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

As a legal studies major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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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 studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Law Professors 12.3% $111,140

2,803 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
71% Percent Women
48% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
The major attracts more women than men. About 71% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 194
Black or African American 307
Hispanic or Latino 693
White 1,288
International Students 62
Other Races/Ethnicities 259

Geographic Diversity

Legal Studies appeals to people across the globe. About 2.2% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with legal studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for legal studies careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 1.1%
Master’s Degree 15.4%
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. 2.1%
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. 46.2%
Doctoral Degree 35.3%

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) 8 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 58 7
Bachelor’s Degree 8 1
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 26 6
Post-Master’s 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

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

Major Number of Grads
Pre-Law 746
Non-Professional Legal Studies, Other 0

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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