College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Legal Professions and Studies, Other degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 10 colleges (10 of 10 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$33,291

Graduates only, early career.$36,560 two years out.

Median federal debt

$26,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.71×

71% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Legal Professions and Studies, Other report early-career pay between $31,831 and $36,683 — a spread of $4,852 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $31,831 median $33,291 75th pct $36,683

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 10 colleges $33,291 $26,500 0.71×

Master's 10 colleges $47,830 $46,786 0.92×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 10 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Drexel University PA $51,005 —

Temple University PA $41,249 $26,000 debt

Berkeley College-Woodland Park NJ $37,567 $27,000 debt

Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ $34,032 —

Montclair State University NJ $33,618 $23,875 debt

Ball State University IN $32,964 $27,000 debt

Central Penn College PA $32,472 —

Berkeley College-New York NY $31,617 $33,547 debt

University of Arizona AZ $29,190 $20,396 debt

Humphreys University CA $25,776 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Legal Professions and Studies, Other, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard