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Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$28,863 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$65,084 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Law Doctor's Degree School for You

Law is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 4,128 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 4th out of all the majors we track in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Law Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for law students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the law doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Law Doctor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson School of Law to be the best value school for law students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law are $1,620 per year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for law in California.

Full Law at University of California - Berkeley Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 20% of our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great value for law students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

Read full report on Law at University of California - Irvine

Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Davis are $13,608 a year.

Full Law at University of California - Davis Report

#6

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

Southwestern Law School landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree law programs. Southwestern Law School is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Southwestern Law School are $18,430 a year.

Full Law at Southwestern Law School Report

#7

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Loyola Marymount graduate students pay an average of $19,922 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#8

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

With a ranking of #8, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students working on their doctor’s degree. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.

SCU graduate students pay an average of $25,170 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Law at Santa Clara University

#9

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for law students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Stanford are $55,011 per year.

Stanford did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Law at Stanford University

#10

University of La Verne

La Verne, CA

University of La Verne came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Law Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of La Verne, ULV is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at ULV are $14,520 per year.

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Best Value Law Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Law Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 514
Oregon 408
Nevada 166
Hawaii 109

Law is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Research 6,659
Legal Professions (Other) 1,424
Legal Support Services 446
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 444

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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