College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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2025 Best Legal Research Schools

22 Colleges in the United States
12,336 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
$83,633 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in legal research is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #114 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 22 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Legal Research Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,336 degrees in legal research annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Best Legal Research Schools The legal research program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Legal Research rankings. For our Best Overall Legal Research School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Bachelor's Degrees in Legal Research
Master's Degrees in Legal Research
Doctor's Degrees in Legal Research

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Legal Research Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the legal research degrees they offer, see the list below.

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
278 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
9.4% Growth in Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in legal research. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were about 278 legal research students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Those legal research students who get their degree from Loyola University Chicago earn $14,650 more than the standard legal research student.

More information about a degree in legal research from Loyola University Chicago

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
2.0% Growth in Graduates

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in legal research. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were about 102 legal research students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the legal research program state that they receive average early career income of $52,118.

More information about a degree in legal research from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WI
38 Legal Research Degrees Awarded

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great option for students pursuing a degree in legal research. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were approximately 38 legal research students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in legal research from University of Wisconsin - Madison

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
410 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
69.5% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in legal research has to check out University of California - Berkeley. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 410 legal research students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, legal research degree recipients typically earn about $60,003 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in legal research from University of California - Berkeley

5
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
88 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
$102,915 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #97 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Temple is a great university overall.

There were about 88 legal research students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year. Legal Research degree recipients from Temple University get an earnings boost of around $19,282 over the typical income of legal research majors.

More information about a degree in legal research from Temple University

6
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
35.3% Growth in Graduates

The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means The American University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 136 legal research students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, legal research degree recipients typically earn an average of $65,919 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in legal research from American University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In AZ
68 Legal Research Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were roughly 68 legal research students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in legal research from University of Arizona

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CO
33 Legal Research Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Denver, DU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 31 colleges for overall quality in the state of Colorado.

There were roughly 33 legal research students who graduated with this degree at DU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in legal research from University of Denver

9
Drexel crest
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
13.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #115 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Drexel is a great university overall.

There were approximately 91 legal research students who graduated with this degree at Drexel in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the legal research program earn around $66,116 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in legal research from Drexel University

10
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Legal Research Degrees Awarded
$40,966 Median Starting Salary

JMU is a very large public university located in the small city of Harrisonburg. This university ranks 7th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.

There were about 80 legal research students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent data year. After graduation, legal research degree recipients generally make around $40,966 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in legal research from James Madison University

View the Best Legal Research Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 4 majors within the Legal Professions area of study, Legal Research has other similar majors worth exploring.

Major Annual Graduates
General Advanced Legal Research/Studies 4,365
Programs for Foreign Lawyers 2,221
Other Legal Research & Advanced Professional Studies 1,175
American/U.S. Law/Legal Studies/Jurisprudence 1,115
Tax Law/Taxation 962
Health Law 548
Banking, Corporate, Finance, & Securities Law 487
International Law & Legal Studies 485
International Business, Trade, & Tax Law 379
Energy, Environment, & Natural Resources Law 252

View All Legal Research Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Law 36,411
Legal Support Services 11,322
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 4,592
Legal Professions (Other) 2,371

View All Legal Research Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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