2023 Best Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Legal Professions Doctor's Degree 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 Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 168 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate 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 doctor’s degree in the United States. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
Full Legal Professions at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report
Request Information
Out of the 168 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Northwestern University
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
Read full report on Legal Professions at University of Chicago
Request Information
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Full Legal Professions at University of Pennsylvania Report
Request Information
Out of the 168 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
Full Legal Professions at Stanford University Report
Request Information
Harvard University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full Legal Professions at Harvard University Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #7, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
Request Information
New York University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at New York University
Request Information
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #9 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Request Information
Vanderbilt University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full Legal Professions at Vanderbilt University Report
Request Information
University of California - Berkeley ranked #11 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Berkeley
Request Information
Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Columbia University in the City of New York
Request Information
University of Notre Dame ranked #13 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, South Texas College of Law did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. South Texas College of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.
Read full report on Legal Professions at South Texas College of Law
Request Information
With a ranking of #15, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Request Information
The University of Texas at Austin ranked #16 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at The University of Texas at Austin
Request Information
With a ranking of #17, Washington and Lee University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Washington and Lee is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Lexington.
Request Information
With a ranking of #18, Boston University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Boston University
Request Information
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #19 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Los Angeles
Request Information
With a ranking of #20, Fordham University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Request Information
University of California - Hastings College of Law did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for legal professions students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the city of San Francisco, UC Hastings is a public school with a small student population.
Request Information
Washington University in St Louis ranked #22 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Washington University in St Louis
Request Information
With a ranking of #23, Brooklyn Law School did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Brooklyn Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Brooklyn.
Full Legal Professions at Brooklyn Law School Report
Request Information
Emory University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full Legal Professions at Emory University Report
Request Information
Mitchell Hamline School of Law did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for legal professions students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Mitchell Hamline is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Read full report on Legal Professions at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 27 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 28 | New York Law School | New York, NY |
| 29 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 30 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA |
| 31 | William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
| 32 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 33 | Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School | Lansing, MI |
Legal Professions by Region
View the Best Legal Professions 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 |
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.
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.