Master of Legal Studies (MLS) programs in New Jersey
A Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree could help New Jersey residents advance their careers in some of the state’s largest industries, such as pharmaceuticals and financial services. The coursework in an MLS program doesn’t prepare students to become practicing lawyers, but it may provide them with a deeper understanding of legal and compliance issues. Graduates can apply their knowledge in a job that involves areas such as compliance, contract negotiations, risk analysis, or human resource management, depending on the student’s MLS concentration.
MLS programs, including master’s degrees in legal studies in New Jersey, offer part-time and online Master of Legal Studies programs, that may enable students to earn the degree while remaining at their job.
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American University
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Master of Legal Studies
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Overview of Legal Degrees in New Jersey: Types and Concentrations
There are two ABA-approved law schools in New Jersey that offer the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree: Seton Hall University and Rutgers University (Camden/Newark).
Rutgers Law School (Newark and Camden) awards the Juris Doctor (J.D.) as its primary professional degree, preparing students for the path to bar admission and legal practice. Rutgers offers a dual-degree option that allows J.D. students to earn a master’s degree in another field while working on their law degree. Rutgers offers dual-degree (joint) options that let J.D. students pair law with another Rutgers graduate degree through formal programs and additional approved combinations.
Seton Hall Law offers an online Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.). It also offers Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees for attorneys seeking a deeper understanding of financial services compliance, health law, or intellectual property law. Seton Hall offers the only master’s degree in legal studies in New Jersey, the Master of Science in Jurisprudence (M.S.J.). Students in the program can select from concentrations in:
- Health and hospital law
- Pharmaceutical and medical device law and compliance
- Intellectual property law
- Financial services compliance
- Privacy law and cybersecurity
Because in-state options may be limited, some New Jersey residents also consider nearby (or fully online) master’s-level legal studies programs offered by schools in New York and beyond.
Law School Highlights in New Jersey
Seton Hall University School of Law. Founded in 1951, Seton Hall Law has developed specialties in health law, intellectual property law, corporate practice and public interest law. The school has both a full-time J.D. program and a part-time weekend J.D. format (delivered as a hybrid option), with J.D. enrollment at 822 (as of Oct. 5, 2025, per the ABA Standard 509 report). Its alumni network includes thousands of graduates working across courts, law firms, corporations, and government.
Rutgers University School of Law. Rutgers Law School reported a total J.D. enrollment of 1,339 students (as of Oct. 5, 2025, per its ABA Standard 509 report). Rutgers Law’s combined Newark–Camden alumni community includes more than 23,000 graduates. After completing the required curriculum, students have significant flexibility in choosing upper-level courses, clinics, and experiential options to match their career goals.
Legal Career Outlook in New Jersey
If you’re interested in a legal career, New Jersey remains a strong market. The Newark–Jersey City area remains one of the top metropolitan areas for legal occupations. As of May 2024, the BLS projects about 33,480 people in the state were employed in legal jobs, including roughly 22,870 lawyers. The average annual wage for all legal occupations in New Jersey was $156,700; lawyers earned the most with a mean annual wage of $176,860, while paralegals and legal assistants averaged $69,020. The BLS projects modest growth in legal occupations over the coming decade (roughly 4%).
Careers with a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies in New Jersey
Graduates of a Master of Legal Studies program in New Jersey have many career options. The master’s degree in legal studies may qualify students for a variety of roles that require understanding federal or state laws. Examples include jobs in human resources, risk management, contract analysis, or healthcare compliance. A graduate’s prior education and work history, along with the specific courses taken in the master’s program, affect what jobs they may be best suited for.
Master’s in legal studies in New Jersey may offer concentrations that align with some of the biggest industries in New Jersey. For example, a concentration in pharmaceutical and medical device law may help prepare a graduate to work in the pharmaceutical industry. New Jersey is a major life-sciences hub, with operations from many global biopharmaceutical companies. Choose New Jersey reports that the state is home to eight of the top 10 global biopharmaceutical companies. The state also supports a broad life-sciences ecosystem spanning biotechnology and medical devices, supported by thousands of life-science and biopharma establishments statewide.
New Jersey is also home to large financial services companies, making a concentration in financial services compliance a possible stepping stone to employment in the state. Financial services and professional services firms with major operations in New Jersey include Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and KPMG.
Legal studies graduates who concentrated on privacy law, cybersecurity law or intellectual property law might find jobs with one of the technology companies in New Jersey, including startups in areas like artificial intelligence and fintech or established companies such as ADP, along with a growing mix of fintech and cybersecurity-focused employers and startups across the state.
Largest Legal Employers in New Jersey
Graduates of a master’s in legal studies program in New Jersey may also find work at a law firm as a legal assistant, paralegal, or technology specialist. Trenton (the Trenton–Princeton MSA) remains a relatively high-paying market for legal support roles, according to BLS OEWS (May 2024). The legal occupational group in the Trenton area had a mean hourly wage of $62.48. For paralegals and legal assistants specifically, May 2024 OEWS data show about 830 employed in the Trenton-Princeton metro with an average (mean) annual wage of $74,990
New Jersey is home to several large, nationally recognized law firms, including several that appear in major “largest law firm” rankings. Newark-based McCarter & English is a firm of over 400 lawyers with practice capabilities that include intellectual property, products liability, and government contracts.
Colleges with Master’s Degrees in Legal Studies Programs in New Jersey
| University | Degree Name | Number of Credits | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall University | Master of Science in Jurisprudence | 31 | Hybrid |
Note: *Programs granted acquiescence by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Information on this page was retrieved and last updated in February 2026.
