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

Is a Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Master's, aggregated across 33 colleges (33 of 33 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$63,265

Graduates only, early career.$66,992 two years out.

Median federal debt

$53,770

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.93×

93% 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 Master's programs in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies report early-career pay between $54,129 and $88,307 — a spread of $34,178 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $54,129 median $63,265 75th pct $88,307

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Master's 33 colleges $63,265 $53,770 0.93×

Professional 4 colleges $63,982 $170,377 2.06×

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

The 15 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.

University of Illinois Chicago IL $114,258 $113,247 debt

Georgetown University DC $109,015 $97,008 debt

Golden Gate University CA $102,600 $95,568 debt

University of Florida FL $93,755 $37,402 debt

University of San Diego CA $91,786 $135,168 debt

Widener University PA $90,088 —

Loyola University Chicago IL $89,863 $58,186 debt

George Washington University DC $88,848 $78,277 debt

Seton Hall University NJ $88,307 $47,995 debt

Boston University MA $87,263 $61,150 debt

The University of Alabama AL $80,715 $45,195 debt

Florida International University FL $71,326 —

University of the Pacific CA $69,748 $41,000 debt

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $67,015 $41,000 debt

University of Houston TX $66,704 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies, 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