2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in the Great Lakes Region
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking.
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 the Great Lakes region, there were 1,491 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $78,600 and $97,476 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,163 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in legal research. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent legal research programs, but they also 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.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 18 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Legal Research in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 131 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Loyola Chicago also took the #5 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola University Chicago are $19,154, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lansing, Michigan. The school has a small population, and it awarded 20 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
WMU-Cooley Law School also took the #12 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School are $11,440, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Legal Research at Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 39 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also took the #7 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 49 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
DePaul also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #10. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760.
Out of the 18 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, this large public school handed out 30 degrees to qualified masters’s legal research students in 2019-2020.
IUPUI also took the #11 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis are $26,013, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 109 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Tech are $30,695.
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 43 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana University - Bloomington are $33,338, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Legal Research at Indiana University - Bloomington
University of Akron Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Akron, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s legal research degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree legal research students list, University of Akron Main Campus has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Akron Main Campus are $15,217.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
UC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC are $26,644, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Legal Research at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Cleveland State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and it awarded 8 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cleveland State University, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Cleveland State University are $17,622, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Toledo did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #11. Toledo, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s legal research degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.
University of Toledo also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #16. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Toledo are $27,067, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 24 diplomas to qualified masters’s legal research students in 2019-2020.
Ohio State also took the #13 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State are $37,141, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Legal Research at Ohio State University - Main Campus
Wayne State University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wayne State University is a large public school situated in Detroit, Michigan. It awarded 6 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
Wayne State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Wayne State University are $37,215, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #14. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 40 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
U-M also made our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Legal Research Report
With a ranking of #15, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Cleveland, Ohio. It awarded 126 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
Case Western did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Case Western Reserve University are $47,958, but some majors have different tuition rates.
With a ranking of #16, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 267 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree legal research students list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.
University of Notre Dame landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Notre Dame, Indiana. It awarded 31 masters’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree legal research students list, Notre Dame has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Notre Dame are $57,522, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Chicago landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 82 masters’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Legal Research Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.
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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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