Legal studies master’s rankings · Colorado

Best Master’s in Legal Studies Programs in Colorado

Colorado's Attorney General explains the Colorado Privacy Act through consumer rights, business obligations and the roles of data controllers and processors. That makes privacy a useful test case for a master's in legal studies in Colorado. You can compare programs against a real problem: translating a legal requirement into a process that product, marketing and operations staff can follow. Look past the concentration name to the writing and analysis students actually complete.

Aerial view of Colorado high-rises with mountains along the distant horizon.

How These Programs Compare for Colorado

Colorado's local choices separate ethics-and-compliance study from an individually directed legal research degree. Boulder leads for a defined compliance goal, while Denver fits applicants who can explain their own interdisciplinary focus. DePaul and Seton Hall add online privacy concentrations against which to test both campus programs using Colorado Privacy Act materials.

2reviewed universities are based in Colorado. The other 2 choices are online alternatives based elsewhere. Known published enrollment exclusions are applied. Confirm authorization for your address and start date with the university. Our ranking criteria.

Compare the Legal Studies Options for Colorado

Scroll across the table to compare the study plan and price.

UniversityStudy FormatCreditsDisplayed Degree Price
University of Colorado BoulderColorado Law’s On-campus Master of Studies in Law (MSL) in Ethics and ComplianceBased in this stateOn campus1 year full-time; part-time option28$45,728Calculated base tuition2026–2027
University of DenverSturm College of Law’s On-campus Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Based in this stateOn campus24$50,712Calculated base tuition2026–2027
DePaul UniversityCollege of Law’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · ILOnlineTwo and a half years, or two years with an approved experience waiver30$39,660Published degree tuition2026–2027
Seton Hall UniversitySeton Hall Law School’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · NJOnlineTwo years part time31$48,980Calculated base tuition2026–2027

Tuition amounts use the conditions shown in each card; fees and academic years vary. Table controls change this comparison view. The full reviews below retain their original ranking order.

The Colorado Legal Studies Rankings

01Program Comparison On Campus

Colorado Boulder gives an in-state applicant a defined Ethics and Compliance degree rather than an open-ended search through law electives. The 28-credit MSL combines courses designed for its students with shared JD classes and offers a part-time route. For someone using Colorado Privacy Act guidance to evaluate a compliance responsibility, that common foundation is a reason to start here.

Where it stands out. Ask how the ethics and compliance sequence addresses translating legal obligations into organizational decisions, then identify the privacy electives available to you. The Attorney General's materials give you a concrete example for that course-planning conversation.

What to weigh. This is a campus program. DePaul offers a named online Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law concentration, while Denver permits a more individualized research focus. Boulder's dedicated title earns its place only if the actual courses and commute fit the work you want to do.

Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources

How the Program Works

  • The MSL has a dedicated ethics and compliance focus.
  • Students take both MSL-specific and shared JD courses.
  • A part-time option is available.

Documented Subjects and Concentrations

  • Ethics and Compliance

Admission Details

  • At least an undergraduate degree is required.
  • No LSAT required.

Tuition and Rate Conditions

2026–2027. Calculated out-of-state tuition for a two-semester, 28-credit MSL plan with 14 credits per semester. Student fees, books and other expenses are additional; different enrollment plans change the total.

Colorado Boulder tuition source ↗

University Sources

Program facts reviewed .

Study format
On campus
Degree credits
28
Study timeline
1 year full-time; part-time option
Calculated base tuition
$45,728
02Program Comparison On Campus

Denver's general MLS is the Colorado option for someone who can already describe a legal question worth sustained research. The degree requires at least 24 credits and a substantial written capstone, with electives chosen around professional goals. Compared with Boulder's Ethics and Compliance MSL, that structure asks you to do more work defining the academic focus before enrollment.

Where it stands out. A Colorado employee reviewing vendor data practices could ask whether the capstone may examine a public privacy issue and which approved electives would support it. Compare that individual plan with Boulder's established compliance sequence.

What to weigh. The program's subject areas are informal, and it is campus based. DePaul and Seton Hall have explicitly named online privacy choices. Get an actual Denver course map and schedule before deciding that a flexible concentration offers equal depth in the subject you need.

Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources

How the Program Works

  • The general MLS requires at least 24 credits.
  • The capstone is a substantial written legal research project.
  • Electives can be chosen around individual professional goals.

Documented Subjects and Concentrations

  • Environment and Natural Resources (informal area)
  • Human Resources (informal area)
  • Patents and Intellectual Property (informal area)
  • International Law and Human Rights (informal area)

Tuition and Rate Conditions

2026–2027. Calculated tuition for 24 semester credits in the general campus MLS, using the university’s 2026–27 exact-program calculator. Fees, health insurance and other expenses are additional.

$2,113 per credit × 24 credits = $50,712 in base tuition.

Denver Sturm tuition source ↗

University Sources

Program facts reviewed .

Study format
On campus
Degree credits
24
Tuition per credit
$2,113
Calculated base tuition
$50,712
03Program Comparison Online

DePaul's named Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law concentration makes it a direct online challenger to Colorado's two campus options. The MLS includes compliance, negotiation and legal research, with 30 credits and published tuition of $39,660 before fees. That provides a concrete alternative when the Colorado Privacy Act has expanded the kinds of documents you need to understand at work.

Where it stands out. Compare a DePaul privacy course with the exact electives you could take at Boulder or Denver. If you have substantial law-related professional experience, ask whether it supports a waiver request for up to six credits.

What to weigh. The standard timetable is two and a half years, and many classes have live evening sessions. Colorado applicants should convert the meeting times before selecting the online route. The experience waiver requires approval, so use the full standard plan until the school confirms otherwise.

Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources

How the Program Works

  • Up to six credits waived for approved professional experience
  • Live evening and asynchronous coursework
  • Three concentration choices

Documented Subjects and Concentrations

  • Business Law
  • Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law
  • General Legal Studies

Tuition and Rate Conditions

2026–2027. Standard 30-credit MLS tuition before fees. An approved professional experience waiver can reduce degree requirements to 24 credits.

$1,322 per credit × 30 credits = $39,660 in base tuition.

DePaul tuition source ↗

Military Benefit Information

DePaul states that eligible MLS students may apply Yellow Ribbon benefits to this degree and directs them to its Veterans Affairs Coordinator for eligibility support.

DePaul military policy ↗

University Sources

Program facts reviewed .

Study format
Online
Degree credits
30
Study timeline
Two and a half years, or two years with an approved experience waiver
Tuition per credit
$1,322
Published degree tuition
$39,660
04Program Comparison Online

Seton Hall gives Colorado applicants a privacy specialization without a campus residency requirement. Its 31-credit MLS offers Privacy Law and Cyber Security alongside corporate and health-related compliance options, following foundational legal writing, contracts, business law and civil liability. Against Denver's individually assembled degree, the named subject route makes the initial course comparison more straightforward.

Where it stands out. If you want a structured legal foundation before examining information-handling obligations, request the privacy sequence and its assignment types. You can use the Attorney General's Colorado Privacy Act explanations to show the kind of issue you want to analyze.

What to weigh. One-course-at-a-time study still requires sustained writing, and a 3.0 cumulative GPA is required to graduate. Compare Seton Hall's confirmed tuition and calendar with DePaul's published $39,660 standard tuition. Staying remote is useful only if the specialization justifies the full degree cost.

Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources

How the Program Works

  • 31-credit degree
  • No campus residency requirement
  • No GRE or LSAT

Documented Subjects and Concentrations

  • Corporate Compliance
  • Health and Hospital Law
  • Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Law and Compliance
  • Privacy Law and Cyber Security
  • Sports Law and Compliance

Admission Details

  • No GRE or LSAT

Tuition and Rate Conditions

2026–2027. Calculated tuition for the 31-credit MLS. Add the $425 university fee in a standard semester and $230 for the MLS summer semester, plus books and other expenses.

$1,580 per credit × 31 credits = $48,980 in base tuition.

Seton Hall tuition source ↗

University Sources

Program facts reviewed .

Study format
Online
Degree credits
31
Study timeline
Two years part time
Tuition per credit
$1,580
Calculated base tuition
$48,980

Plan Your Next Step

Comparing the Final Written Work in Colorado

A Colorado applicant choosing between campus programs can ask to see the standard expected at graduation. Denver's MLS requirements describe a substantial written capstone with a legal research component. Start with Denver's place in this Colorado ranking, then ask who approves the topic, how supervision works and whether students revise a draft after feedback. At Colorado Boulder's ethics and compliance MSL, ask how assignments in shared JD courses and MSL-specific courses compare. Those conversations reveal more about academic fit than counting the subjects listed in a brochure.

Putting Professional Experience Into the Online Comparison

For a Colorado worker considering an online alternative, DePaul's MLS curriculum describes a professional-experience waiver that can reduce required credits. Request an eligibility review before comparing a personal price with the full degree cost at another university. The useful response names the waived requirements and the courses that remain. Read the guide to calculating MLS costs alongside that decision. You should also weigh the value of a research project, the demands of live evening classes and any campus travel separately. A shorter approved plan still has to deliver the legal education you need.

Choosing Legal Studies for Colorado Data Work

Review the Attorney General's privacy materials, then ask a university how students learn to compare a statute, agency rules and an organization's practices. Useful assignments might include evaluating a vendor agreement or drafting a process for responding to a data request. Confirm that privacy electives run often enough for your planned graduation date. If you're considering a broader compliance concentration, count its technology courses and compare that flexibility with the depth of a dedicated privacy track.

Colorado Attorney General: Colorado Privacy Act supplies the state materials discussed here. Use them to question the curriculum, rather than assuming an MLS teaches the law of your state.

Using Legal Studies in Your Colorado Career

A Colorado applicant already working in data operations can use the degree to strengthen conversations with counsel and document decisions. Someone starting out should also examine the experience expected in privacy job postings. The state's compliance wage figures describe the occupation as a whole and do not measure a pay increase from finishing an MLS.

Compliance Officer Pay in Colorado

10th percentile pay
$57,990
Median annual pay
$82,450
90th percentile pay
$133,520

Colorado has an estimated 7,740 compliance officer jobs. The occupation’s median annual wage is $82,450, with the 10th and 90th percentiles at $57,990 and $133,520.

BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-1041. Occupation wages cover workers with varied education and experience; these are not MLS graduate outcomes or starting salary estimates. BLS compliance officer wage data.

Sources for the Colorado Comparison

  1. Colorado Attorney General: Colorado Privacy Act
  2. BLS compliance officer employment and wages

Each ranking card contains the university sources for its curriculum, admission, delivery, and tuition details.

Questions About Legal Studies in Colorado

How Can Colorado's Privacy Resources Help Me Choose an MLS?

Use the Attorney General's explanations of consumer rights and business obligations as a sample reading exercise. Then ask whether a program teaches you to turn similar material into a written analysis or an operational policy.

What Should I Ask About a Colorado-Focused Privacy Capstone?

Ask whether you may analyze a state privacy issue, who supervises the project and how instructors evaluate your work. Get confirmation that the necessary electives fit your degree sequence.