---
title: Is a Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 2202
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

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

Leading with the **Master's**, across **33** colleges (33 of 33 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $63,265 ($66,992 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $53,770 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.93× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $54,129–$88,307 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Master's | $63,265 | $53,770 | 0.93× | 33 | 33/33 |
| Professional | $63,982 | $170,377 | 2.06× | 4 | 4/4 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Illinois Chicago (IL) | $114,258 | $113,247 |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $109,015 | $97,008 |
| Golden Gate University (CA) | $102,600 | $95,568 |
| University of Florida (FL) | $93,755 | $37,402 |
| University of San Diego (CA) | $91,786 | $135,168 |
| Widener University (PA) | $90,088 | — |
| Loyola University Chicago (IL) | $89,863 | $58,186 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $88,848 | $78,277 |
| Seton Hall University (NJ) | $88,307 | $47,995 |
| Boston University (MA) | $87,263 | $61,150 |
| The University of Alabama (AL) | $80,715 | $45,195 |
| Florida International University (FL) | $71,326 | — |
| University of the Pacific (CA) | $69,748 | $41,000 |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus (OK) | $67,015 | $41,000 |
| University of Houston (TX) | $66,704 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/legal-research-and-advanced-professional-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/legal-research-and-advanced-professional-studies.json`