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Non-Professional Legal Studies Major

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Non-Professional Legal Studies

418 Master's Degrees Annually
3 Doctor's Degrees Annually
#160 in Popularity (Master's)
$130,710 Median Salary

The following table lists how many non-professional general legal studies graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 418
Graduate Certificate 23
Doctor’s Degree 3

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to non-professional general legal studies and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Non-Professional General Legal Studies majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

When studying non-professional general legal studies, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

As a non-professional general legal studies major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Below is a list of occupations associated with non-professional general legal studies:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Law Professors 12.3% $111,140

418 Master's Degrees Annually
69% Percent Women
43% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major is dominated by women with about 69% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of non-professional general legal studies majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 21
Black or African American 75
Hispanic or Latino 62
White 187
International Students 18
Other Races/Ethnicities 55

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Non-Professional General Legal Studies. About 4.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • China
  • Canada
  • South Korea
  • Saudi Arabia
  • France

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in non-professional general legal studies have a median salary of $45,199 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $45,199 (25th percentile) and $45,199 (75th percentile).

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It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to non-professional general legal studies.

Salaries According to BLS

Non-Professional General Legal Studies majors often go into careers with median salaries of $130,710. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a Non-Professional Legal Studies Major  130,710
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with non-professional general legal studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to non-professional general legal studies have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 1.1%
Master’s Degree 15.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 2.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 46.2%
Doctoral Degree 35.3%

In 2020-2021, 263 schools offered a non-professional general legal studies program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 9 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 75 7
Bachelor’s Degree 9 1
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 26 4
Post-Master’s 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

The median salary for a non-professional general legal studies grad is $130,710 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 228% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,816,200 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to non-professional general legal studies.

Major Number of Grads
Law 36,216
Legal Research 6,659
Legal Professions (Other) 1,424
Legal Support Services 446

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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