2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 9,738 people earned their degree in legal research, making the major the 89th most popular in the United States. 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 the Plains States region, there were 601 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $61,328 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 20 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,701 and $106,703 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in legal research. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality legal research programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the legal research program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Legal Research Schools

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 the Plains States Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region doctor’s degree legal research students.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in the Plains States Region

#1

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Lincoln, Nebraska

#2 in overall quality

$19,513 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, this large public school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s legal research students in 2019-2020.

UNL also made our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Nebraska - Lincoln are $19,513.

Read full report on Legal Research at University of Nebraska - Lincoln

#2

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$25,007 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region list. University of Kansas is located in Lawrence, Kansas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s legal research degrees to qualified students.

KU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Kansas are $25,007, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full KU Legal Research Report

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$27,613 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region list. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 1 doctorate’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #4 spot in our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Iowa are $27,613.

Read full report on Legal Research at Iowa

#3

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$56,562 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 7 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s legal research students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WUSTL, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Legal Research Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Washington University in St Louis are $56,562.

Read full report on Legal Research at Washington University in St Louis

• 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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