by our College Data Analytics Team
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Legal Research is the 114th most popular major in the country with 6,874 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, legal research graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $66,544 and had an average of $26,000 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southeast region, there were 1,083 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,135 and $25,000 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region” ranking analyzed 30 colleges that offered a degree in legal research. That schools that top this list have a program in legal research in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region legal research students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Florida Memorial University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region. Florida Memorial University is a small school located in Miami Gardens, Florida that handed out 17 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Legal Research at Florida Memorial University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wake Forest University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region. Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 67 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read full report on Legal Research at Wake Forest University
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, St. Thomas University landed the #3 spot on the list. St. Thomas University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Miami Gardens, Florida. It awarded 36 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 30 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University New Orleans landed the #4 spot on the list. Loyola University New Orleans is located in New Orleans, Louisiana and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Miami. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Coral Gables, Florida. It awarded 102 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
James Madison University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #6. JMU is a large school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 91 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Stetson University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #7. Stetson is a small school located in DeLand, Florida that handed out 18 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Emory University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #8. Emory University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Atlanta, Georgia. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 73 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, Samford University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Samford is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Birmingham, Alabama. It awarded 24 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Nova Southeastern University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #10. NUS Florida is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It awarded 69 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Florida State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #11. Tallahassee, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s legal research degrees to 129 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Duke University ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Duke is a private not-for-profit institution located in Durham, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 48 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Florida did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school handed out 92 diplomas to qualified ’s legal research students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
George Mason University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school handed out 52 diplomas to qualified ’s legal research students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Liberty University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 104 diplomas to qualified ’s legal research students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #16, The University of Alabama did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s legal research degrees to 34 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
University of Richmond came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking. University of Richmond is a small private not-for-profit school situated in University of Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 4 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Tulane University of Louisiana ranked #18 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Tulane University of Louisiana is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New Orleans, Louisiana. It awarded 14 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Legal Research at Tulane University of Louisiana
Georgia State University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Georgia State University is located in Atlanta, Georgia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 ’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
Florida International University ranked #20 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Florida International University is a large school located in Miami, Florida that handed out 32 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Georgia ranked #21 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. UGA is a large school located in Athens, Georgia that handed out 15 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #22, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Vanderbilt University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #23. Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 ’s legal research degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Mississippi College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #24. MC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Clinton, Mississippi. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Mississippi ranked #25 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Legal Research Major in the Southeast Region list. Ole Miss is a large school located in University, Mississippi that handed out 3 ’s legal research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies