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 fairly 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 city of Des Moines.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Drake are $11,988 a year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Purdue University Global is a great value for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. 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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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. WMU-Cooley Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Lansing.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WMU-Cooley Law School are $14,440 per year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Roger Williams University School of Law is a great value for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Bristol, Roger Williams University School of Law is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Roger Williams University School of Law are $12,803 per year.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, University of Virginia 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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Gonzaga University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Spokane.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Gonzaga are $14,878 per 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 fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 per 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 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.
UC Berkeley excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Seattle University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Seattle.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Seattle U are $14,310 per year.
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The University of Texas at Austin ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UT Austin graduate students pay an average of $22,944 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Northern Illinois University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NIU are $11,390 a year.
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University of South Dakota landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USD are $12,768 a year.
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Southwestern Law School came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Southwestern Law School is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southwestern Law School are $18,430 per year.
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Capital University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Capital is a small private not-for-profit school located in the 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 ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, OCU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
OCU graduate students pay an average of $13,410 in tuition and fees each year.
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Fordham University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fordham U are $23,846 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Fordham U also did well on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #18, Mississippi College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Clinton, MC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
MC graduate students pay an average of $12,796 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Pennsylvania ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large 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 ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UIPR School of Law is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Juan.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UIPR School of Law are $16,505 a year.
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. UNL is a very large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNL are $19,541 a year.
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Loyola Marymount University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large 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 Loyola Marymount are $19,922 a year.
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With a ranking of #23, Creighton University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Omaha, Creighton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Creighton are $19,096 per 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 very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NYU are $38,206 per year.
NYU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Legal Professions Doctor’s Degree Schools list.
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Villanova University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree legal professions programs. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Villanova graduate students pay an average of $21,199 in tuition and fees each year.
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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 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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