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Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California

109 Colleges
$61,809 Avg Salary
$19,221 Avg Student Debt

In 2020-2021, 6,896 degrees and certificates were awarded to legal professions students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #20 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 109 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Legal Professions program at each school on the list.

Check out the legal professions programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the most popular school for legal professions students who want to pursue a degree in California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of Southern California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, legal professions graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debt load of $15,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $278.

Full Legal Professions at University of California - Berkeley Report

Out of the 109 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Los Angeles

#4

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

The excellent programs at University of San Diego helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best legal professions schools in California. Located in the large city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

While working on their degree, legal professions majors at USD accumulate an average of around $5,500 in student debt.

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#5

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Out of the 109 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola Marymount University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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California Western School of Law came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. California Western is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Full Legal Professions at California Western School of Law Report

University of California - Hastings College of Law came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Francisco, UC Hastings is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Hastings College of Law

#8

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

Pepperdine University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular legal professions programs. Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Malibu.

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University of California - Davis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for legal professions students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#10

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California list. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Santa Clara University

University of California - Irvine came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#12

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

Southwestern Law School ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California list. Southwestern Law School is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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#13

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

With a ranking of #13, Stanford University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for legal professions students. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Stanford University

#14

University of the Pacific

Stockton, CA

University of the Pacific did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for legal professions students. It came in at #14 on the list. Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Stockton.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of the Pacific

Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Golden Gate University - San Francisco

#16

Chapman University

Orange, CA

With a ranking of #16, Chapman University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for legal professions students. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Orange.

Full Legal Professions at Chapman University Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Legal Professions students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
17 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
18 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
19 Trinity Law School Santa Ana, CA
20 University of La Verne La Verne, CA
21 San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA

Explore all the Most Popular Legal Professions Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 892
Oregon 506
Hawaii 128
Nevada 265
Alaska 32

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

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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