Request Information
To download a program brochure and learn more about the Master of Legal Studies offered by the DePaul College of Law, please fill out the form. You can also get in touch with an admissions advisor directly by calling us at (800) 542-8539 (toll-free).
Program Benefits
- Learn from experienced legal scholars and practicing industry professionals.
- Specialize your studies with the choice of three in-demand concentrations.
- Earn your degree in two to two and a half years.
- Utilize professional experience in place of course credits.
- No legal experience or test scores are required to apply.
About the Master of Legal
Studies Program
Employers have realized there is a great benefit to having professionals with an understanding of the law even if they may not practice as a lawyer.
The ability to mitigate risks, avoid litigation and intelligently communicate on legal issues as a business professional is invaluable in today’s labor market, and a Master in Legal Studies can prepare you with these skills.
While degrees such as a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Laws (LLM) are directed at aspiring lawyers and practicing lawyers, respectively, MLS programs have a different focus: they are designed to equip non-lawyers with the ability to apply legal knowledge to their respective fields. A Master of Legal Studies adds legal skills to an individual’s broader professional toolkit.
With an online Master of Legal Studies from DePaul College of Law, you’ll gain the knowledge and expertise to navigate the rules and regulations of the modern workplace and help solve large-scale problems.
The number of non-attorney job postings that call for legal research or legal writing skills has increased by more than 180% over the past five years, according to the labor database Lightcast.
The DePaul Online Master
of Legal Studies Experience
Taught by our experienced faculty, the DePaul Master of Legal Studies offers a curriculum designed to advance your legal skills in your chosen field with the flexibility of online learning. Our interactive, collaborative coursework allows students to complete their MLS degree remotely while building a network of peers and strengthening their knowledge of litigation risk, transactional law and compliance issues. To help specialize their learning, students choose from concentrations in:
- Business Law
- Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law
- General Legal Studies
MLS Program Outcomes
Through simulation exercises, practice-based assignments and real-time Socratic discussions that blend asynchronous and synchronous elements, you will learn to:
- Identify legal issues, find the rule or regulation that relates, discover how to apply the law to your specific situation and draw a conclusion from your findings
- Formulate creative solutions to legal problems that abide by rules and regulations
- Negotiate, with a deeper understanding of contract law and deal-making
- Learn the methods lawyers use to research laws and adapt them for your own career
- Make a difference in a specialized field of business law or cybersecurity law
Every Professional Should Have Access to Legal Education
Our MLS degree is designed for working professionals with a variety of career experiences and educational backgrounds. Because our students pursue this degree to excel in their own industries, rather than to pursue the practice of law, we don’t require any previous legal experience. Nor do we require LSAT, GMAT or GRE test scores to enter our program. Our online Master of Legal Studies can be completed part-time in two and a half years.
“Our MLS is a practical, career-focused program. Our students are usually working professionals who may be trying to get promoted in their current job or find a new job in a legal field.”
Anne Hudson, Adjunct Faculty
Legal Studies Careers
The DePaul MLS emphasizes gaining versatile legal knowledge and learning how to apply that knowledge to a wide variety of industries, making it ideal for graduates who want adaptability in their careers. If they change roles, move to a new organization or switch fields entirely, what they’ve learned in the MLS will stay relevant.
The program includes hands-on experience in negotiation, legal analysis and more, which is featured in interactive coursework that shows students how to use these tools to address real-world legal challenges.
According to Emsi Lightcast, the top industries looking for professionals with legal knowledge and skills include:
- Finance and insurance
- Professional, scientific and technical
- Healthcare and social assistance
- Manufacturing
- Retail trade
- Public administration
- Educational services
- Real estate, rental and leasing
About DePaul
College of Law
Established in 1897, DePaul University has been helping to build knowledgeable legal professionals for over a century. DePaul College of Law is committed to improving society by educating purpose-driven lawyers and legal professionals who will serve the profession and the public with integrity and compassion. The College strives to provide an academically rigorous, experiential, community-engaged education that prepares students to contribute as leaders in the diverse world of legal practice.
