Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) Degree
Students study the foundations of law, legal reasoning, constitutional principles, and the American legal system at the undergraduate level without pursuing a law degree. Graduates typically pursue careers in legal compliance, corporate governance, government regulatory agencies, and law enforcement, or continue to law school. This major builds strong analytical and argumentation skills that are valuable across many professions.
What Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) Graduates Do
Your legal studies degree prepares you for the engine room of the legal world. As a paralegal or legal assistant, you'll be the organizational backbone of a law practice. Your days will be spent drafting pleadings and motions, organizing thousands of documents for discovery, conducting legal research, and preparing detailed exhibits for trial. Other paths include specialized support roles like title examiners, where you'll spend your time meticulously verifying property records for real estate transactions.
You might start as a junior paralegal in a specific practice area like corporate law or personal injury, then advance to a senior or managing paralegal role, overseeing complex cases with greater autonomy. While the paralegal field offers numerous openings, overall growth is flat, and some other specialized legal support roles are shrinking.
With moderate AI exposure, your daily tasks will change significantly. AI will increasingly handle routine work like initial document review and summarizing case law. The jobs aren't disappearing, but your value will shift from performing these tasks to verifying AI’s output, managing case strategy, and handling client communication. Success will depend on your ability to adapt and leverage these new tools effectively.
Common Career Paths
Where Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 44,000 combined openings per year.
| Career Path | Salary Range | Openings/yr | Growth | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal support workers, all other | 4,700 | -1.2% | 0% | |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 39,300 | +0.2% | 52% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Best Schools for Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate)
Top 20 of 37 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD |
64 64–65 |
$54,304/yr | 24.8x |
| 2 | University of the District of Columbia Washington, DC |
56 57–56 |
$43,778/yr | 24.2x |
| 3 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH |
55 54–55 |
$51,231/yr | 11.8x |
| 4 | American Public University System Charles Town, WV |
54 55–55 |
$46,109/yr | 16.9x |
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA |
53 54–54 |
$43,886/yr | 12.2x |
| 6 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA |
51 53–51 |
$39,558/yr | 13.6x |
| 7 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL |
50 50–50 |
$49,624/yr | 3.3x |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI |
50 52–51 |
$41,144/yr | 13.7x |
| 9 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA |
50 53–51 |
$39,558/yr | 13.4x |
| 10 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ |
49 50–49 |
$42,228/yr | 11.8x |
| 11 | American University Washington, DC |
48 49–49 |
$45,790/yr | 3.5x |
| 12 | Bellevue University Bellevue, NE |
45 45–45 |
$44,839/yr | 11.6x |
| 13 | Bentley University Waltham, MA |
43 43–44 |
$72,883/yr | 2.1x |
| 14 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY |
43 49–43 |
$32,649/yr | 18.6x |
| 15 | University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA |
42 46–42 |
$36,941/yr | 9.8x |
| 16 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA |
41 46–41 |
$36,181/yr | 8.7x |
| 17 | National Paralegal College Phoenix, AZ |
41 46–41 |
$35,764/yr | 14.7x |
| 18 | University of La Verne La Verne, CA |
38 38–38 |
$49,004/yr | 2.3x |
| 19 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI |
38 44–38 |
$33,752/yr | 9.0x |
| 20 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ |
37 39–38 |
$42,228/yr | — |
Highest Earning Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) Programs
Schools where Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bentley University | $72,883/yr | 43 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus | $54,304/yr | 64 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | $51,231/yr | 55 |
| University of Miami | $49,624/yr | 50 |
| University of La Verne | $49,004/yr | 38 |
| American Public University System | $46,109/yr | 54 |
| American University | $45,790/yr | 48 |
| Bellevue University | $44,839/yr | 45 |
| Suffolk University | $44,354/yr | 33 |
| University of California-Berkeley | $43,886/yr | 53 |
Best ROI for Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate)
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate).
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maryland Global Campus | 24.8x | $54,304/yr | 64 |
| University of the District of Columbia | 24.2x | $43,778/yr | 56 |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | 18.6x | $32,649/yr | 43 |
| American Public University System | 16.9x | $46,109/yr | 54 |
| National Paralegal College | 14.7x | $35,764/yr | 41 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13.7x | $41,144/yr | 50 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 13.6x | $39,558/yr | 51 |
| University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | 13.4x | $39,558/yr | 50 |
| University of Central Florida | 12.5x | $34,408/yr | 36 |
| University of California-Berkeley | 12.2x | $43,886/yr | 53 |
Related Majors
Explore similar fields of study.
Consider the Trade Route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.