Master's · Los Angeles, California
Is Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at University of Southern California worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.5 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $89,504
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $91,227
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $65,303
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $69k (likely $69k – $69k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $22k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 5.5 years (likely 4.3–7.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$50k (likely −$113k – $6k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $149k (likely $40k – $256k)
- Today's dollars
Change income, residency or loans Compare Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at other schools
Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.
Other majors at University of Southern California
- Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Doctoral)$226,049
- Law (First professional)$203,028
- Finance and Financial Management Services (Graduate certificate)$199,110
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$192,897
- Computer Science (Master's)$188,871
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Graduate certificate)$187,852
- Real Estate Development (Master's)$185,174
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$181,250
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$180,468
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral)$179,146
- Computer Software and Media Applications (Master's)$179,055
- Systems Engineering (Master's)$178,619
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at other schools in California
- University of San Diego$148,235
- Loyola Marymount University$140,519
- University of San Francisco$136,623
- Golden Gate University$131,366
- University of California-Los Angeles$112,923
- University of the Pacific$87,881
- Pepperdine University$73,551
- Northcentral University$56,539