Online Legal Studies Degree Completion Programs for 2027
UMGC takes up to 90 credits from a four-year school but only 70 from a two-year school, a split that matters if your credits came from a community college. None of the online legal studies degree completion programs is law school, and the paralegal bachelor’s degrees at Cincinnati and National University say plainly that they don’t make you eligible for the bar exam.
Match the Legal Curriculum to the Bachelor's You Want to Finish
Legal studies degree completion programs may share research and writing courses while differing in professional focus. Compare the exact major and concentration, then ask which previous courses satisfy legal requirements and which fit elsewhere in the degree.
This shortlist includes 20 online degree offerings at 20 colleges. Compare transfer credit policies with the requirements of your chosen major. Check each program’s schedule and any laboratory, fieldwork, or campus commitments before enrolling.
How we select programs
We select online legal studies and paralegal bachelor's options with published curricula and transfer entry information. The comparison identifies scheduled instruction, research requirements and professional boundaries. Programmatic approval or examination preparation is not presented as an individual license or certification.
Online Legal Studies Degree Programs and Transfer Credit Requirements
A Progression in Legal Research, Writing and Ethics
University of Maryland Global Campus
BS in Legal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
UMGC builds its legal studies major around the practical sequence of finding legal authority, analyzing it and writing about it. Introduction to Law and Techniques of Legal Research lead into legal writing, advanced writing and ethics. Substantive courses cover subjects such as contracts, litigation, domestic relations and criminal procedure. If you've already taken legal or business courses, ask which of those requirements they satisfy and whether the research sequence still needs to be completed before the capstone.
Before you apply: This is undergraduate legal education. Its 120-credit plan includes general education and electives, while UMGC's institutional and major residency rules still apply after transfer. Evaluate the complete degree plan.
Where You Start
Apply through UMGC's undergraduate admission process and have previous college coursework evaluated for the Legal Studies BS.
Transfer Credits
Up to 90 credits from four-year institutions or 70 from two-year institutions, subject to evaluation and degree requirements.
Degree Requirements
120 total credits, with at least 30 through UMGC, half the major and 15 upper-level credits through the university.
Published Tuition
$337 per credit for Maryland residents or $499 per credit for out-of-state students; other fees may apply.
Study Schedule
All courses are available online, with spring, summer and fall course starts.
More About the Curriculum +
Research and writing:Required study progresses through legal research, legal writing, advanced legal writing and legal ethics.
Substantive law:Courses examine contracts, litigation, torts, domestic relations, and criminal law and procedures.
Degree structure:The plan includes 41 general education credits and 46 electives, with a Legal Studies Capstone in the major.
A Broad Legal Curriculum With a Capstone or Internship
University of Central Florida
BS in Legal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
UCF's Legal Studies BS combines legal research and writing with courses in civil procedure, torts, property, criminal law and other substantive areas. Electives let you consider subjects such as environmental, immigration or cybersecurity law. The final requirement can be a capstone or an internship, which gives you two different arrangements to discuss with an advisor. This listing selects the BS specifically so that your transcript review uses the requirements of one exact award.
Before you apply: UCF cautions that not every elective or prerequisite is available online. Confirm an online course plan for your choices, and arrange approval and location if you select the internship.
Where You Start
UCF treats applicants with at least 12 transferable credits earned after high school as transfer students. Submit required academic records for admission review.
Transfer Credits
Previous coursework is evaluated for the selected degree through UCF's transfer process.
Paralegal Preparation With Scheduled Live Legal Courses
University of Cincinnati
BS in Law and Paralegal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
Cincinnati's Law and Paralegal Studies BS focuses on the work of supporting legal practice. Courses address research with primary and secondary legal sources, computer-assisted research, document production, case management and litigation support. The online format includes live instruction, allowing discussion with instructors and classmates. If you already have substantial college credit, compare the remaining legal specialty courses with your weekly availability as well as the admission requirements.
Before you apply: At least nine semester credits of legal specialty coursework require synchronous instruction. Cincinnati states that graduates do not qualify for the bar examination and that paralegal credits do not provide advanced standing in law school.
Where You Start
A cumulative college GPA of 2.5 or higher is considered for admission. Applicants submit official transcripts. Those with fewer than 60 college credits are advised to consider the associate program first.
Transfer Credits
The program accepts transfer applications and evaluates previous academic records for the bachelor's pathway.
Degree Requirements
Complete the Law and Paralegal Studies bachelor's requirements, including at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction.
Study Schedule
Online study with scheduled live legal specialty courses; full-time and part-time options are available.
More About the Curriculum +
Legal research:Students use primary and secondary legal sources and computer-assisted research.
Legal technology:Coursework uses software for document production, docket control, litigation support and case management.
Professional scope:The program prepares paralegals, does not qualify graduates for the bar examination and does not award advanced law-school standing.
A Defined Paralegal Curriculum With Upper-Division Requirements
National University
BS in Paralegal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
National's Paralegal Studies BS publishes a detailed academic structure: preparation for the major, required legal specialty study, upper-division electives and general education. That breakdown matters when your existing credits come from several subjects or institutions. The online program also requires live legal specialty instruction, so you can identify scheduled commitments before enrolling. Ask the advisor to separate courses that meet legal requirements from those that satisfy general education or elective space.
Before you apply: The degree requires 120 semester credits, including 51 upper-division credits and 30 at National. Its coursework does not transfer to law school or satisfy the California Bar's legal-education requirement.
Where You Start
Apply through National's undergraduate transfer process and request evaluation of previous coursework for the Paralegal Studies BS.
Transfer Credits
Previous college courses are evaluated for the selected degree; additional general electives may be needed when prior credits do not apply.
Degree Requirements
120 semester credits, including 51 upper-division credits, 30 at National and at least 46 general education credits.
Study Schedule
Online study includes at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty coursework through synchronous instruction.
More About the Curriculum +
Curriculum structure:The plan separates preparation for the major, legal specialty courses and upper-division electives.
Live instruction:At least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses require synchronous instruction.
Professional boundary:The degree does not satisfy the California Bar's legal-education requirement; its coursework does not transfer to law school.
A General Legal Studies Plan or a Focused Concentration
University of Massachusetts Global
BA in Legal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
UMass Global lets you choose a general Legal Studies BA or concentrate in Business Law or the Paralegal Profession. That choice changes the legal questions you'll spend time studying. Featured coursework includes intellectual property, contemporary legal issues, electronic discovery and legal technology. The paralegal concentration identifies preparation for professional examinations, while the broader degree remains an academic bachelor's. Choose the concentration before asking how previous legal, business or writing courses apply.
Before you apply: The university must review and accept transfer credits before they count in its cost estimate. Examination preparation within a concentration does not itself award a professional certification or permission to practice law.
Where You Start
Applicants with at least 12 transferable credits submit all prior college transcripts and generally need a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Those below 12 credits follow the published high school documentation route; additional support provisions apply.
Transfer Credits
UMass Global reviews earlier college coursework for acceptance and application to the selected Legal Studies plan.
Degree Requirements
120 total credits, including the Legal Studies BA requirements and any selected concentration.
Published Tuition
The program lists tuition of $500 per credit; textbooks, university fees and other expenses are separate.
Study Schedule
Online instructor-led study.
More About the Curriculum +
Academic choices:Choose the general plan, Business Law concentration or Paralegal Profession concentration.
Intellectual property:Coursework examines copyright, trademarks, patents, ownership and related public policy.
Legal technology:Featured subjects include electronic discovery, legal technology and contemporary legal issues.
Purdue Global combines legal practice and theory in an online degree that offers a paralegal concentration. Returning students can have eligible college coursework and prior learning reviewed while planning the remaining legal core. An optional internship provides a way to connect the coursework with experience in a professional setting.
Before you apply: The degree uses quarter credits. Convert earlier semester credits before comparing totals, and decide whether the paralegal concentration fits the work you want to pursue.
Where You Start
Applicants need a high school diploma or equivalent and complete orientation; eligible prior college coursework can be evaluated for transfer.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:180 quarter credits across 33 courses.
Legal Coursework:Subjects include business law, legal research and writing, ethics, and alternative dispute resolution.
Paralegal Option:An optional paralegal concentration focuses electives on litigation, criminal law, administrative law, and law office management.
Penn State’s Law and Society BA examines the historical, philosophical, political, and social foundations of law. Returning students develop research and legal writing skills while considering how legal practices relate to social justice. The online coursework is paired with an internship, giving the degree an applied component to include in a completion plan.
Before you apply: Plan for the internship alongside your online classes. Have prior coursework evaluated against the degree’s requirements before estimating the time left to graduate.
CSU Global offers a legal studies BS with a 48-credit core that reaches from constitutional law and civil procedure to cyber law and intellectual property. Returning students can pursue the degree in asynchronous eight-week courses. Legal research and writing develop the analysis and document skills used throughout the legal curriculum.
Before you apply: The transfer allowance applies to the whole degree. Ask which earlier legal courses meet the required core before planning around a 90-credit maximum.
Where You Start
Up to 90 credits may transfer, including approved prior academic and career learning.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:120 total credits with a 48-credit core of sixteen courses.
Legal Subjects:Core topics include constitutional law, civil procedure, legal ethics, cyber law, and intellectual property.
Course Format:Courses are asynchronous, fully online, and eight weeks long.
American Public University lets students connect a legal studies core with a concentration such as legal communications, legal ethics, or criminal law support. The online BS ends with a project or paper that brings the coursework together. Returning students can use transfer review to identify how much of the core and chosen concentration remains.
Before you apply: The senior seminar is taken last and requires completion of major courses. Keep that sequence in mind when arranging your final terms.
Davenport’s legal studies BS uses livestream classes for students who want direct participation with instructors and classmates. Coursework addresses legal research, document preparation, litigation, and law office technology, followed by an internship within the major. Returning students can also compare specialty choices in general practice or litigation technology when reviewing their prior credits.
Before you apply: Livestream courses require participation at scheduled times. Check class meeting times and the internship arrangement before choosing this program around a fixed work schedule.
Western Kentucky offers professional legal studies online with a required internship and some live legal-specialty coursework. The major develops legal research, writing, and practice support across several areas of law. Its separate review standards for transferred legal courses make this a useful option to investigate for students bringing previous paralegal study.
Before you apply: Legal-specialty transfer rules are stricter than general university transfer acceptance. Request that review and check the live course schedule before selecting a completion date.
Texas Tech’s BAAS in Legal Studies gives students with an applied associate degree a named route back to a bachelor’s. The program combines legal theory with practical skills and offers asynchronous coursework in eight-week sessions. Its published AAS transfer allowance provides a starting point for reviewing how earlier technical study contributes.
Before you apply: The BAAS route is designed around an AAS background. Ask an advisor which remaining requirements determine whether the advertised two-year schedule is realistic.
Where You Start
Students with an Associate of Applied Science degree may transfer up to 60 credit hours into the BAAS route.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Route:The BAAS is designed for students returning to finish their bachelor’s degree.
Course Format:Legal studies programs are fully online and asynchronous in eight-week sessions.
Academic Focus:The program combines legal theory with practical legal and professional skills.
Stevenson offers an online legal studies BS with coursework in research, writing, contracts, and litigation. Returning students can transfer eligible college work and may seek additional credit through prior learning assessment. The program includes synchronous instruction in legal-specialty courses, which gives students a live teaching component within the online degree.
Before you apply: Check the synchronous legal course schedule against your work commitments, and distinguish the transfer limits for community college and four-year coursework.
Where You Start
Transfer applicants submit prior college transcripts and need a 2.0 cumulative GPA; fewer than 15 college credits also require high school documentation.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:120 credits are required for the legal studies BS.
Legal Coursework:Course choices include torts, contract law, estates and trusts, and civil litigation and pleading.
Transfer Limits:Applicable transfer credit may include up to 70 community college credits or 90 credits from a four-year institution.
Bellevue offers an accelerated legal studies cohort for students bringing an associate degree or at least 60 credits. The group moves through one course at a time, with study in legal foundations, analysis, and practical legal skills. Returning students should review both the legal coursework and the university’s Signature Series when planning their remaining credits.
Before you apply: The degree totals 127 credits and includes the Signature Series. Ask which transferred courses leave requirements outside the accelerated legal studies sequence.
Where You Start
Students entering the accelerated cohort need an associate degree or at least 60 previous college credits.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:127 total credits, including a 40-credit legal studies requirement.
Cohort Format:Students take one course at a time with the same online cohort.
University Requirement:Students also complete the nine-credit Kirkpatrick Signature Series.
SUNY Canton explicitly welcomes students transferring from paralegal or criminal justice programs into its legal studies BS. The fully online option covers research and writing alongside several areas of law, including civil litigation, property, and family law. An internship option lets students add professional experience while completing their undergraduate study.
Before you apply: Have earlier paralegal and criminal justice courses checked individually against the legal studies plan, and discuss internship options if professional experience is a priority.
Arizona’s online BA in Law draws on a partnership between the College of Law and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Returning students study legal concepts while completing a minor or second major, which may connect with previous coursework. Faculty can also help identify internship opportunities near the student’s location.
Before you apply: Include the required minor or second major in your transfer evaluation. Earlier elective credits may have different value depending on that choice.
Regent’s online paralegal studies BS develops research, communication, organization, and legal technology skills. Coursework addresses legal memoranda and court procedures within the university’s Christian educational setting. Returning students can request evaluation of previous college work while identifying the legal-specialty courses still needed for the degree.
Before you apply: Compare the paralegal focus with your intended work and review Regent’s transfer evaluation before assuming earlier legal courses replace the program’s required study.
Where You Start
Regent accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward an undergraduate degree, subject to its transfer evaluation.
Post’s online legal studies BS combines a substantial legal core with open electives. Returning students can have college coursework, approved examinations, and prior learning evaluated toward the degree. The curriculum connects ethical legal practice with research, writing, litigation, and other practical tasks used in legal support settings.
Before you apply: Ask where accepted prior learning fits within the degree. Open electives and required legal coursework serve different purposes in the published plan.
Where You Start
Post evaluates eligible prior college coursework, approved examinations, and prior learning for potential transfer credit.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:120 total credits, including 51 credits in the major and concentrations.
Legal Practice Skills:The curriculum develops legal research, writing, civil litigation, and real estate closing skills.
Elective Space:The published degree plan includes 27 open elective credits.
BA in Government with an Emphasis in Legal Studies
OnlineTransfer entry route
GCU integrates legal studies into a government BA, connecting legal reasoning and research with political institutions and public service. Returning students can take online seven-week courses while building on approved prior credits. This emphasis can suit students whose interest in law is closely tied to policy, civic leadership, or government.
Before you apply: The award is a government degree with a legal studies emphasis. Review that focus and the Christian Worldview requirement when comparing undergraduate legal programs.
Where You Start
Up to 90 credits may transfer, including no more than 84 lower-division credits; GCU provides a Lopes Eval review.
More About the Curriculum +
Degree Structure:120 credits, including a 44-credit major.
Online Sessions:Online courses run in seven-week sessions.
Academic Focus:The emphasis combines political science, legal reasoning, analysis, and practical legal research.
Liberty’s online paralegal studies BS offers a generalized track with elective room for students who want to shape their legal interests. Coursework addresses research methods, criminal law, and business legal structures. Returning students can bring eligible prior credits into a program that generally uses eight-week courses within a Christian educational setting.
Before you apply: Some courses follow a full semester or run only in particular terms. Check availability before planning the order of your remaining paralegal courses.
Organize your previous college credits in the degree planner, then take your course list and questions to a school’s transfer advisor. The school’s evaluation determines which credits count toward your degree.
Understand the Scope of Legal Studies Degree Completion Programs
The American Bar Association distinguishes paralegal education from law-school education. Cincinnati states that graduates of its paralegal program do not qualify for the bar examination and that those academic credits do not provide advanced standing in law school. National similarly identifies limits on transfer to law school and California Bar legal-education eligibility.
Use these degrees to compare undergraduate study. If your goal involves a separate professional qualification, review that qualification's requirements directly before treating the bachelor's as satisfying them.
Check Scheduled Instruction Before Choosing an Online Route
Cincinnati and National each require at least nine semester credits, or the equivalent, of legal specialty coursework through synchronous instruction. You'll need to attend scheduled classes even though the program is offered online.
When comparing legal studies degree completion programs, ask which required classes use that format and when they meet. UCF also cautions that not all electives or prerequisites are available online. Have an advisor confirm a workable course selection before committing to a timetable around work or caregiving.
Apply Transfer Credits to the Legal Research and Writing Sequence
UMGC's major moves from introductory law and legal research into writing, advanced writing, ethics and a capstone. UCF offers a capstone or internship, with a prior ethics and professionalism course required for the internship. UMass Global offers a general plan and separate concentrations in Business Law and the Paralegal Profession.
Ask which of your legal or writing transfer credits satisfy those specific requirements. A course accepted as an elective may still leave a research prerequisite, concentration requirement, or final experience to complete. Request a remaining-course plan for the exact concentration before choosing your next class.
Questions About Legal Studies Degree Completion Programs
Are Legal Studies Degree Completion Programs JD Programs?+
These listings are bachelor's degrees, not Juris Doctor programs. The ABA distinguishes paralegal education from law-school education, and Cincinnati and National state specific limits regarding bar eligibility and law-school credit.
Can an Online Legal Bachelor's Require Live Classes?+
Yes. Cincinnati and National require at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty coursework through synchronous instruction. Confirm meeting times before arranging your remaining course load.
What Does Cincinnati Recommend if I Have Fewer Than 60 Credits?+
Its bachelor's page advises students below that level to consider starting with the Associate of Applied Business in Law and Paralegal Studies. The bachelor's admission review considers a cumulative college GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Does UMass Global's Paralegal Concentration Award Certification?+
The university describes preparation for paralegal examinations within the concentration. Completing academic preparation does not itself mean you have passed an examination or earned the separate professional credential.
How Should I Compare Transfer Credit in Legal Studies Degree Completion Programs?+
Request a plan for the exact award and concentration, separating legal specialty courses, general education and electives. Include scheduled instruction and the capstone or internship in the remaining requirements.
Program details come from the schools’ own degree, admission, transfer, and tuition pages. Program selection follows the criteria stated above. Each school determines how your previous coursework applies.
