---
title: Is a Non-Professional Legal Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 2200
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 Non-Professional Legal Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **35** colleges (35 of 35 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $37,114 ($37,208 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,753 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.64× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $33,408–$41,226 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $37,114 | $24,753 | 0.64× | 35 | 35/35 |

## Where a Bachelor'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 Miami (FL) | $50,340 | $15,565 |
| Suffolk University (MA) | $45,532 | $27,000 |
| Post University (CT) | $45,235 | $35,456 |
| American University (DC) | $44,628 | $24,375 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $44,201 | $31,750 |
| Pennsylvania State University-World Campus (PA) | $44,201 | $31,750 |
| Hodges University | $41,892 | — |
| American Public University System (WV) | $41,598 | $30,518 |
| Bellevue University (NE) | $41,439 | $25,000 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus (MD) | $41,013 | $26,701 |
| Hamline University (MN) | $40,063 | $22,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $39,519 | $13,000 |
| University of the District of Columbia (DC) | $37,990 | $37,650 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $37,462 | $20,000 |
| Mercy University (NY) | $37,348 | $25,000 |

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/non-professional-legal-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/non-professional-legal-studies.json`