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2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California

14 Ranked Colleges
1,653 Degrees Awarded
$32,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 California, there were 1,864 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $69,800 and $62,532 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,653 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the legal research program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

The legal research school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree legal research students.

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s legal research degrees to 208 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at UCLA

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 330 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree legal research students list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Legal Research Master’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 University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.

Full University of California - Berkeley Legal Research Report

#3

Golden Gate University - San Francisco

San Francisco, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Golden Gate University - San Francisco. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 39 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Golden Gate University - San Francisco did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Golden Gate University - San Francisco are $19,705, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at Golden Gate University - San Francisco

#4

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

San Diego, California
#14 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Thomas Jefferson School of Law. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California list. This small school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 19 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law also took the #14 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’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 Thomas Jefferson School of Law are $1,620.

Read full report on Legal Research at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

#11 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 47 masters’s legal research degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Legal Research at University of California - Irvine

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 52 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #10 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Legal Research at UC Davis

#7

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, California
#8 in overall quality

Santa Clara University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Santa Clara, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified masters’s legal research students in 2019-2020.

SCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Santa Clara University are $23,507, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full SCU Legal Research Report

#8

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

University of San Francisco ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California list. This fairly large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 39 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

USFCA also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of San Francisco are $26,710, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Legal Research at USFCA

#9

University of San Diego

San Diego, California

University of San Diego came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. USD is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 37 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USD also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at USD are $28,410, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at USD

#10

California Western School of Law

San Diego, California

California Western School of Law landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. California Western is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 109 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

California Western also took the #13 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’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 California Western School of Law are $32,590.

Read full report on Legal Research at California Western

#11

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 521 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at University of Southern California

#12

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California
#9 in overall quality

University of the Pacific did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Stockton, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified masters’s legal research students in 2019-2020.

Pacific also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at Pacific are $49,374, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Legal Research at University of the Pacific

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Hastings College of Law came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. University of California - Hastings College of Law is a small school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 23 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Hastings did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Hastings College of Law are $53,772, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Legal Research at UC Hastings

#14

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #14. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s legal research degrees to 82 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Legal Research at Stanford

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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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