2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Legal Research is the 89th most popular major in the country with 9,738 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, legal research graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,635 and had an average of $65,122 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,864 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $69,800 and $62,532 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 18 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in legal research. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great legal research programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the legal research program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,131 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 1 doctorate’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at UCLA

#1

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$29,347 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s legal research students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Berkeley Legal Research Report

#2

Golden Gate University - San Francisco

San Francisco, California

#3 in overall quality

$19,705 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Golden Gate University - San Francisco landed the #2 spot on the list. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 5 doctorate’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Golden Gate University - San Francisco, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Golden Gate University - San Francisco are $19,705.

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

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #3 spot on the list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s legal research degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011.

Read more about Legal Research at Stanford

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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