2023 Best Legal Professions Schools
Finding the Best Legal Professions School for You
Legal Professions is the #16 most popular major in the country with 61,055 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Legal Professions Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 311 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Legal Professions Schools in the United States
Check out the legal professions programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Legal Professions
Our analysis found University of Virginia - Main Campus to be the best school for legal professions students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
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Out of the 311 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the # 2 spot on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Out of the 311 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Georgetown University is a great place for legal professions students. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
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With a ranking of #6, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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New York University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Vanderbilt University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best legal professions programs. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #10 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
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El Centro College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #11 on the list. El Centro College is a very large public school located in the city of Dallas.
The average amount in student loans that legal professions majors at El Centro College take out is $15,501.
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Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
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University of Houston - Clear Lake landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best legal professions programs. Located in the suburb of Houston, UH Clear Lake is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, legal professions graduates from UH Clear Lake take out $25,024 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #14 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $15,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $278, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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California University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the small suburb of California, Cal U is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Anoka Technical College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best legal professions programs. Located in the large suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
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Bellevue University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best legal professions programs. Bellevue University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bellevue.
After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from Bellevue University carry an average student debtload of $33,682.
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University of Notre Dame came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Inver Hills Community College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. IHCC is a small public school located in the large suburb of Inver Grove Heights.
On average, legal professions graduates from IHCC take out $22,750 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #20, Hamline University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students. Hamline is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
The average amount in student loans that legal professions majors at Hamline take out is $23,688. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $222.
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American Public University System came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.
After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from American Military University carry an average student debtload of $30,648.
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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Tacoma, UW Tacoma is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that legal professions majors at UW Tacoma take out is $19,047.
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Portland Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the city of Portland, Portland Community College is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from Portland Community College carry an average student debtload of $23,666.
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Austin Community College District came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. Austin Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
Legal Professions majors at Austin Community College District take out an average of $11,808 in student loans while working on their egree.
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South Texas College of Law ranked #25 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools list. South Texas College of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Legal Professions students that almost earned our Best Legal Professions Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 47 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 48 | University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA |
| 49 | Herzing University - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 50 | Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny, IA |
| 51 | Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 52 | Mitchell Hamline School of Law | Saint Paul, MN |
| 53 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 54 | Brooklyn Law School | Brooklyn, NY |
| 55 | Emory University | Atlanta, GA |
| 56 | City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright College | Chicago, IL |
| 57 | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 58 | SUNY Canton | Canton, NY |
| 59 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 60 | North Hennepin Community College | Brooklyn Park, MN |
| 61 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle, WA |
| 62 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
Legal Professions by Region
View the Best Legal Professions Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Legal Professions Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Legal Professions
Legal Professions Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Law | 36,216 |
| Legal Support Services | 11,545 |
| Legal Research | 6,874 |
| Non-Professional General Legal Studies | 4,407 |
| Legal Professions (Other) | 2,013 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Legal Professions
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 142,610 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | 98,583 |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | 73,813 |
| Military Technologies & Applied Sciences | 4,477 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to The wub.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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