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 for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 67,032 people earned their degree in legal professions, making the major the 16th most popular in the United States. In , legal professions graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $50,137 and had an average of $67,839 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 6,841 legal professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,405 and $52,153 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,342 legal professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,505 and $37,295 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 17 colleges that offered a degree in legal professions. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their legal professions program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
The legal professions 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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region”.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region master’s degree legal professions students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend National Paralegal College. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region. This small school is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and it awarded 30 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 17 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, St. Mary’s University landed the #2 spot on the list. St. Mary’s University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Antonio, Texas. It awarded 48 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Read full report on Legal Professions at St. Mary’s University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Norman, Oklahoma, and it awarded 273 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Legal Professions at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Tulsa. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. Tulsa, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s legal professions degrees to 13 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Skysong. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region. ASU - Skysong is a public institution located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 296 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%.
Full Arizona State University - Skysong Legal Professions Report
With a ranking of #6, Southern Methodist University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. SMU is located in Dallas, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 58 masters’s legal professions degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, 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 91%.
Read more about Legal Professions at Southern Methodist University
With a ranking of #7, University of Arizona did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Arizona is a large school located in Tucson, Arizona that handed out 179 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #8. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s legal professions degrees to 215 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. ASU - Tempe is a large school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 107 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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 full report on Legal Professions at Arizona State University - Tempe
University of Houston came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 21 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Baylor University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Waco, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s legal professions degrees to 16 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, 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 88%.
Texas State University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas State University is located in San Marcos, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 31 masters’s legal professions degrees to qualified students.
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%.
Texas Southern University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas Southern University is a public institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 6 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #14. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 5 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 #15, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 41 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Wayland Baptist University ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region list. Wayland Baptist University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Plainview, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Oklahoma City University landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Legal Professions Major in the Southwest Region ranking. This small school is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and it awarded 150 masters’s legal professions degrees in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies