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2024 Best Legal Professions Schools

266 Colleges in the United States
61,055 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$47,649 Avg Early-Career Salary
Legal Professions is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #16 out of the 38 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

College Factual looked at 266 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Legal Professions Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 61,055 degrees in legal professions during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Best Legal Professions Schools Your choice of legal professions school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for legal professions schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Associate Degrees in Legal Professions
Bachelor's Degrees in Legal Professions
Master's Degrees in Legal Professions
Doctor's Degrees in Legal Professions

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Legal Professions Schools list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the legal professions degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
328 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$186,571 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in legal professions needs to check out University of Pennsylvania. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 328 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Legal Professions degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania earn a boost of approximately $138,922 over the typical earnings of legal professions graduates.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Pennsylvania

2
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
997 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$119,163 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in legal professions has to take a look at Georgetown University. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 997 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from Georgetown University earn $71,514 more than the typical legal professions graduate.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Georgetown University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
565 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$193,362 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in legal professions has to check out Columbia University in the City of New York. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 565 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Those legal professions students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York receive $145,713 more than the typical legal professions student.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Columbia University in the City of New York

4
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
666 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$184,307 Median Starting Salary

Harvard University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in legal professions. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were approximately 666 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the legal professions major at Harvard University get $136,658 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Harvard University

5
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
661 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$175,389 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 661 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the legal professions degree program at New York University make $127,740 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in legal professions from New York University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
515 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$122,281 Median Starting Salary

Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 515 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those legal professions students who get their degree from Northwestern University receive $74,632 more than the average legal professions graduate.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Northwestern University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
241 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$181,006 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were about 241 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the legal professions major at University of Chicago make $133,357 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Chicago

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
672 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$99,955 Median Starting Salary

UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 672 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley make $52,305 more than the typical legal professions grad.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of California - Berkeley

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
750 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$78,143 Median Starting Salary

USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 750 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Legal Professions degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of approximately $30,493 over the average earnings of legal professions majors.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Southern California

10
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
204 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$151,574 Median Starting Salary

Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 204 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Legal Professions degree recipients from Stanford University earn a boost of around $103,925 above the average income of legal professions graduates.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Stanford University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
613 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$68,808 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were roughly 613 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the legal professions program at Washington University in St Louis earn $21,158 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Washington University in St Louis

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
447 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
10.1% Growth in Graduates

Suffolk is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. This university ranks 16th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 447 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Suffolk in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from Suffolk University receive $3,294 more than the standard legal professions graduate.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Suffolk University

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
326 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$185,710 Median Starting Salary

University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville. This university ranks 1st out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.

There were about 326 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year. Legal Professions degree recipients from University of Virginia - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of approximately $138,061 above the typical earnings of legal professions majors.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Virginia - Main Campus

14
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
230 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$132,293 Median Starting Salary

Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were about 230 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from Vanderbilt University earn $84,644 more than the standard legal professions student.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Vanderbilt University

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
381 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
1.0% Growth in Graduates

U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 381 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $98,636 more than the standard legal professions student.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

16
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
408 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$97,666 Median Starting Salary

Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 408 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Legal Professions degree recipients from Boston University earn a boost of around $50,017 above the typical income of legal professions majors.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Boston University

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
399 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
5.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 51 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were about 399 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Those legal professions students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $9,513 more than the average legal professions student.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
190 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$87,638 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 190 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the legal professions major at University of Notre Dame make $39,989 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Notre Dame

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
682 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
7.2% Growth in Graduates

GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were about 682 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the legal professions major at George Washington University earn $22,700 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in legal professions from George Washington University

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
393 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$92,050 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 393 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal professions students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles earn $44,401 more than the average legal professions grad.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of California - Los Angeles

21
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
354 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$67,160 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.

There were approximately 354 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the legal professions program at Emory University get $19,510 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Emory University

22
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
90 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
8.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Bristol, RWU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 7th out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.

There were about 90 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at RWU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the legal professions program make around $41,908 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Roger Williams University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
558 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
0.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 558 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at Fordham U in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the legal professions program at Fordham University earn $98,432 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in legal professions from Fordham University

24
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
405 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
26.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were about 405 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, legal professions degree recipients generally earn an average of $47,432 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Wisconsin - Madison

25
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
491 Legal Professions Degrees Awarded
$56,747 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were about 491 legal professions students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the legal professions major at University of Miami make $9,098 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in legal professions from University of Miami

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Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
30
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
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Cerritos College crest
Cerritos College
Norwalk, CA
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UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
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Hamline crest
Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN

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
40 University of California - Hastings College of Law San Francisco, CA
41 Widener University Chester, PA
42 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
43 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
44 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
45 El Centro College Dallas, TX
46 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
47 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
48 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
49 Inver Hills Community College Inver Grove Heights, MN
50 Villanova University Villanova, PA
51 Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
52 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
53 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC

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
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

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

View All Legal Professions Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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