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Pre-Law

Types of Degrees Pre-Law Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Pre-Law may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	28
Associate’s Degree	66
Bachelor’s Degree	465
Master’s Degree	164

Who Is Earning a Degree in Pre-Law?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 65.4% of Pre-Law degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	473	65.4%
Men	250	34.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Pre-Law graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	411	56.8%
Asian	18	2.5%
Hispanic or Latino	101	14.0%
Black or African American	73	10.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	10	1.4%
Two or More Races	37	5.1%
Race Unknown	56	7.7%
International Students	17	2.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Pre-Law Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Pre-Law graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$41,185
4 years	$51,677
5 years	$63,687

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $63,687 — roughly 55% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Pre-Law Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Pre-Law. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	4	3
Bachelor’s	2	3
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Pre-Law Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Pre-Law graduates earn a median of $51,677 four years after completion — roughly 36% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Non-Professional Legal Studies	22.00
Non-Professional Legal Studies, Other	22.0099
Non-Professional Legal Studies	22.0000

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.