If your current or future career involves the growing areas of regulation, compliance, law, negotiations, human resources, law enforcement, or working with agencies, tribal governments or corporations, the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree will enhance your knowledge and effectiveness.
Understand laws and regulations (without needing a law license), and advance your career and development prospects by obtaining legal and critical-thinking skills with the Master of Legal Studies degree.
Application Deadlines
- Fall Start: Apply by August 1 (June 1 for international applicants)
- Spring Start: Apply by December 15 (October 22 for international applicants)
- Summer* Start: Apply by April 20 (March 20 for international applicants)
* Although main campus and online students may start in fall or spring, only online students may start in summer.
Degree Details
University of Arizona Law’s online MLS degree is a 30-unit, part-time or full-time program that provides a strong legal foundation. In addition to general legal studies, you may concentrate in:
- Compliance and Legal Risk Management
- Criminal Law and Policy
- Environmental Law and Policy
- Family and Juvenile Law
- Health Law and Policy
- Human Rights
- Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy
- Intellectual Property
- International Trade and Business Law
- Mining Law and Policy
Most concentrations are required to begin the degree with five core courses:
REQUIRED CORE COURSES (15 UNITS - vary by concentration)
- LAW 501 - Procedure (civil, criminal, and administrative procedure)
- LAW 502A - The American Common Law System I (torts, contracts)
- LAW 502B - The American Common Law System II (property)
- LAW 504 - The American Public Law System (constitutional law)
- LAW 507 - Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research
Courses are 7.5 weeks or 16 weeks in length. They are offered during the fall, spring and summer semesters. New online courses are added each semester. Students are a part of the Arizona Online campus.
*Note: The MLS with a concentration in Mining Law and Policy has a separate curriculum list. Please visit the Mining Law and Policy online concentration page for information specific to the mining law and policy concentration.
*Note: The University of Arizona, like all higher education institutions, is required to obtain authorization from individual states to enroll students residing outside of Arizona. Check eligibility and state authorization.
TUITION
The cost is fixed at $700 per unit (excluding Mandatory University fees).
Frequently Asked Questions
Program Information
$650 per unit
Start dates are offered throughout the year. Check with the MLS program for specific application dates.
Yes, you can take one or more courses at a time, depending on your schedule. Courses range between 1-4 units a piece so plan your schedule carefully.
No, you can take the courses as it fits your schedule.
Yes.
Students can complete the MLS program in 1 year (1 fall semester, 1 spring semester and 1 summer semester). However, two years is recommended for working professionals.
MLS students must complete their degree requirements within four years of enrolling the program.
A “credit hour” is an amount of work that reasonably approximates: not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for fifteen weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; The equivalent for a 7.5 week course is:
- 1 unit: 6 hours a week
- 2 units: 12 hours a week
- 3 units: 18 hours a week
There are no travel or residency requirements.
Our faculty members are internationally known for their work, whether it’s producing provocative new scholarship, influencing the practice of law, or advocating for clients in court. Much of that work sees student alongside professor, making significant contributions and growing from a true mentoring relationship.
No, the degrees are the same. The degree requirements mirror each other. The courses cover the same material. Fully online programs are offered through the Arizona Online campus so students do not pay an extra technology fee per course.
No. A thesis or capstone project is not required to graduate. However, students who wish to take on a substantial research project or independent study have the option to do so.
Course Structure
All courses are asynchronous to meet the lives of busy professionals, working families, and international students.
All law school courses use the Desire2Learn learning management system.
Assignments vary depending on the teaching style of the faculty member and course content. (Examples include quizzes, discussions, paper assignments, and etc. Most assignments will utilize Desire2Learn tools, but outside tools (for example VoiceThread) may be used as well.)
All courses include three types of interaction. Student-instructor, student-student and student-content. There is opportunity for regular and substantive interaction between the faculty member and students via assignments, feedback and grading. There is also regular monitoring and communication by faculty members assessing student effort.
No. The curriculum for each course varies depending on the content and the faculty member. Some courses may include final projects while others may require a substantial paper and/or final exam.
No. Currently, we do not include proctored exams. If we do design a course that needs to be proctored, we will use Examity. Examity is a University of Arizona supported online proctoring service provided by the University which can be accessed remotely from your home.
The courses are provided through the Arizona Online campus. Most Arizona Online courses are 7.5 weeks and summer session courses are 7 weeks. However, some courses will run the full semester.
Yes.
There are short breaks between the summer and fall semesters as well as the fall and spring semesters.
Yes. You'll need to apply as Non-Degree Seeking through the Graduate College to take classes. Once admitted, you will be able to enroll in any law classes that you wish to take. Please make sure to indicate whether you wish to take courses online or at the main campus in your application. For more information and to apply, click here.
Yes. However only 12 units of coursework taken as a Non-Degree Seeking status student can be applied toward the MLS degree. A separate admissions process is required. For more information, please click here.
Students should be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for most financial aid. Half-time equates to at least 5 hours per semester. A student taking 1 3-credit course every 7.5 week session is considered half-time.