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Gain legal knowledge without becoming a lawyer

Customize your master's degree path at ASU Law

The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law offers graduate level advanced degrees built with the busy professional in mind. Its unique design is for students with an interest in understanding more about the law, but not practicing it. This program will allow you to build a foundation in U.S. law first and then select elective courses to complement your career path.

Choose between multiple degrees and emphases, including a Master of Human Resources and Employment Law (MHREL) or an emphasis in legal paraprofessional.

Quick facts

Next start date: August 2024

Total classes: 10

Weeks per class: 7.5

Total credit hours: 30

Offered in-person and online
No entrance exam required

How do I know if a Master of Legal Studies is right for me?

The MLS degree allows you to build a foundation in the law and basic legal concepts. The opportunity to customize this degree with focus areas makes it relevant to many career fields. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, MLS students build familiarity with legal principles and apply the relation to the law with their fields of work or study.

When you earn your Master of Legal Studies, you have the option of customizing your degree. Click here to learn more about our degree emphases.

Learn more about the MLS program

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What is a Master of Human Resources and Employment Law?

The Master of Human Resources and Employment Law (MHREL) is a non-Juris Doctor graduate degree program that is tailor made for both entry-level and established human resources, recruitment and operations professionals. The online or in-person program aims to help non-lawyer professionals understand the legal and regulatory framework that governs recruiting, hiring, maintaining, promoting and dismissal of employees and independent contractors in the public and private sectors. The MHREL program consists of 30 credit hours that can be completed either in-person or online in one to three years on a full-time or part-time basis.

Learn more about the MHREL program

What is the MLS legal paraprofessional emphasis?

The State of Arizona allows non-lawyers to provide legal services in a limited capacity through its new Legal Paraprofessional (LP) license. Through the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program, students have access to expert faculty and curricular resources to provide non-lawyer, limited legal practitioners the knowledge, expertise and preparation needed to be eligible for licensure.

The limited practice areas included in this licensure are family law, civil law (limited jurisdiction), criminal (limited jurisdiction) and administrative law (as permitted by agencies). Once you’ve obtained a license, you’ll be prepared to provide legal advice and assistance to clients in the permitted practice areas, including client representation in court.

Learn more about this emphasis

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Earn your graduate degree in law online

The law touches every career. Accordingly, students that apply to our master's level programs come from a diverse range of professional backgrounds and are looking to move up the ladder in their current career or to pursue new and exciting career options.

The online Master of Legal Studies, online Master of Human Resources and Employment Law are unique advanced legal degrees for non-lawyers. These 30-credit programs enables professionals to gain a foundation in U.S. law in as little as one year and without pursuing a full law degree.

Click below to learn more about our online programs.

Learn more