Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about $60,176, with roughly 196,560 workers nationwide in those roles. About 11,533 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 60%.
Key Statistics
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies: what the data shows
Common questions about legal research and advanced professional studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a legal research and advanced professional studies degree?
A Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 00.2202 in the Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) field family (00.22).
IPEDS counted 11,533 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a legal research and advanced professional studies degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.2202 in our file:
- 21 Master's (100.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in legal research and advanced professional studies?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Instructing, Speaking, Active Learning, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a legal research and advanced professional studies degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 154,540 | $54,140 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,737,820 | $46,290 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 12,680 | $75,890 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a legal research and advanced professional studies degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $12,020 and median net price is $21,436.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$12,020 Median In-State Public
$52,687 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors are, on average, $12,020 for in-state public colleges, and $52,687 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
11,533 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 3 | Liberty University | VA | 50,059 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 49,000 |
| 5 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 44,617 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oglala Lakota College | SD | $2,684 |
| 2 | University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras | PR | $5,324 |
| 3 | Florida State University | FL | $5,656 |
| 4 | Owens Community College | OH | $5,750 |
| 5 | University of Florida | FL | $6,381 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oglala Lakota College | SD | $2,065 |
| 2 | University of Florida | FL | $6,351 |
| 3 | University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras | PR | $6,507 |
| 4 | Northern Kentucky University | KY | $7,168 |
| 5 | University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus | CT | $8,896 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies programs.
Graduation Rates
60.00% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
59.64% Average Graduation Rate
159 Institutions Reporting
48.05% - 73.97% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies programs across institutions.
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.2202 in the survey year used in our extract (21 total across levels below).
- 21 Master's (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $60,176. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | $80,395 | 154,540 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | $57,329 | 1,737,820 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $141,278 | 12,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$61,331 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors is $61,331.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors.
Occupations by Share
196,560 2023 Workforce
The number of Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies.
Age distribution for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Gender distribution of Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.
Racial and ethnic distribution of Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies majors.
About
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
In 2023, 11,533 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies.
CIP Code
00.2202 - Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $60,176. The largest mapped role by headcount is Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (11,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $12,020 in-state at public colleges and $52,687 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.