2023 Best Value Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 168 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for legal professions students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Legal Professions
Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson School of Law to be the best value school for legal professions students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law are $1,620 per year.
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Out of the 168 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Drake University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.
Drake graduate students pay an average of $11,988 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University Global. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Purdue University Global is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Indianapolis.
Purdue University Global graduate students pay an average of $10,582 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 168 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School landed the # 4 spot on the list. WMU-Cooley Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Lansing.
WMU-Cooley Law School graduate students pay an average of $14,440 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Roger Williams University School of Law. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Bristol, Roger Williams University School of Law is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Roger Williams University School of Law are $12,803 a year.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.
University of Virginia also claimed a spot on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Gonzaga University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Spokane.
Gonzaga graduate students pay an average of $14,878 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #8, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UC Berkeley are $29,262 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UC Berkeley also did well on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Seattle University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Seattle U are $14,310 a year.
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Austin also is in the top 10% of our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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With a ranking of #12, Northern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of South Dakota 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 #13 on the list. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.
USD graduate students pay an average of $12,768 in tuition and fees each year.
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Southwestern Law School 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 #13 on the list. Southwestern Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Southwestern Law School are $18,430 a year.
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Capital University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Capital is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Columbus.
Capital graduate students pay an average of $13,190 in tuition and fees each year.
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Oklahoma City University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Located in the city of Oklahoma City, OCU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at OCU are $13,410 per year.
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Fordham University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fordham U are $23,846 per year.
Fordham U also claimed a spot on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Mississippi College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Located in the suburb of Clinton, MC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at MC are $12,796 a year.
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University of Pennsylvania 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 #19 on the list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UPenn are $42,932 per year.
UPenn also claimed a spot on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Inter American University of Puerto Rico - 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 #20 on the list. UIPR School of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Juan.
UIPR School of Law graduate students pay an average of $16,505 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UNL is a very large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
UNL graduate students pay an average of $19,541 in tuition and fees each year.
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Loyola Marymount University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Loyola Marymount graduate students pay an average of $19,922 in tuition and fees each year.
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Creighton University landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Located in the city of Omaha, Creighton is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Creighton are $19,096 a year.
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New York University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
NYU graduate students pay an average of $38,206 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, NYU also did well on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Villanova University 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 suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Villanova are $21,199 a year.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Legal Professions Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | New York Law School | New York, NY |
| 27 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 27 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 29 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 30 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 31 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 31 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 33 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, CA |
Legal Professions by Region
View the Best Value 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
Legal Professions Related Majors for 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.
- 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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