Legal Studies
Students study the foundations of law, legal reasoning, constitutional principles, and the American legal system at the undergraduate level without pursuing a law degree. Graduates typically pursue careers in legal compliance, corporate governance, government regulatory agencies, and law enforcement, or continue to law school. This major builds strong analytical and argumentation skills that are valuable across many professions.
What Legal Studies graduates do
Your legal studies degree prepares you for the engine room of the legal world. As a paralegal or legal assistant, you'll be the organizational backbone of a law practice. Your days will be spent drafting pleadings and motions, organizing thousands of documents for discovery, conducting legal research, and preparing detailed exhibits for trial. Other paths include specialized support roles like title examiners, where you'll spend your time meticulously verifying property records for real estate transactions.
You might start as a junior paralegal in a specific practice area like corporate law or personal injury, then advance to a senior or managing paralegal role, overseeing complex cases with greater autonomy. While the paralegal field offers numerous openings, overall growth is flat, and some other specialized legal support roles are shrinking.
With moderate AI exposure, your daily tasks will change significantly. AI will increasingly handle routine work like initial document review and summarizing case law. The jobs aren't disappearing, but your value will shift from performing these tasks to verifying AI’s output, managing case strategy, and handling client communication. Success will depend on your ability to adapt and leverage these new tools effectively.
Closely-related majors include Legal Support Services, Pre-Veterinary Studies, and Liberal Arts & Humanities, which share overlapping career paths and skill sets.
Where Legal Studies graduates work
Common career paths for Legal Studies graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 44,000 combined openings per year across these roles.
| Role | Median Pay | Annual Openings | 10-yr Growth | AI Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Legal support workers, all other
|
$68,760
$51K–$103K
|
4,700 | -1.2% | Low · 0% |
|
Paralegals and legal assistants
|
$61,010
$48K–$78K
|
39,300 | +0.2% | High · 52% |
Best schools for Legal Studies
Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 37.
| # | School | DW Score | 1-yr Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
|
53 | $43,886 | 12.2x |
| 6 |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
|
51 | $39,558 | 13.6x |
| 7 |
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL · Private nonprofit
|
50 | $49,624 | 3.3x |
| 8 |
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI · Public
|
50 | $41,144 | 13.7x |
| 9 |
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public
|
50 | $39,558 | 13.4x |
| 10 |
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
|
49 | $42,228 | 11.8x |
| 11 |
American University
Washington, DC · Private nonprofit
|
48 | $45,790 | 3.5x |
| 12 |
Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE · Private nonprofit
|
45 | $44,839 | 11.6x |
| 13 |
Bentley University
Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit
|
43 | $72,883 | 2.1x |
| 14 |
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, NY · Public
|
43 | $32,649 | 18.6x |
| 15 |
University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA · Public
|
42 | $36,941 | 9.8x |
| 16 |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, MA · Public
|
41 | $36,181 | 8.7x |
| 17 |
National Paralegal College
Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit
|
41 | $35,764 | 14.7x |
| 18 |
University of La Verne
La Verne, CA · Private nonprofit
|
38 | $49,004 | 2.3x |
| 19 |
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI · Public
|
38 | $33,752 | 9.0x |
| 20 |
Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ · Public
|
37 | $42,228 | — |
Highest Earnings Top 5
| Bentley University
MA |
$72,883 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus
MD |
$54,304 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus
OH |
$51,231 |
| University of Miami
FL |
$49,624 |
| University of La Verne
CA |
$49,004 |
Best ROI Top 5
| University of Maryland Global Campus
MD |
24.8x |
| University of the District of Columbia
DC |
24.2x |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
NY |
18.6x |
| American Public University System
WV |
16.9x |
| National Paralegal College
AZ |
14.7x |
Related majors
Similar fields of study often offered alongside Legal Studies.
Consider the trade route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Legal Studies offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.
Compare Legal Studies trade programs on TradeSchoolOutlook →Frequently asked about Legal Studies
How much do Legal Studies graduates earn?
The median first-year salary across 37 Legal Studies programs is $39,560. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($23,017) and highest ($72,883) earning programs is significant.
How exposed is Legal Studies to AI disruption?
Legal Studies is rated "Moderate" for AI automation risk, with 37% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.
Where should I study Legal Studies?
Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), University of Maryland Global Campus ranks #1 for Legal Studies with a score of 64/100 and graduate earnings of $54,304/yr.
What's the ROI on a Legal Studies degree?
Typical graduates earn 8.4 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.