Best Master’s in Legal Studies Programs for Maryland
Maryland's procurement website includes a Procurement Academy with training and certification resources for staff, vendors and business partners. For a master's in legal studies in Maryland, that creates a useful comparison: targeted purchasing education versus a broader legal degree. If you need deeper contract analysis, regulatory research or dispute-resolution skills, an MLS may address several responsibilities at once. Start by identifying what the shorter training covers before paying for a graduate program.
Maryland's procurement training gives applicants a useful baseline for deciding how much additional legal study they need. APU leads as a lower-cost broad degree, Cincinnati offers a defined sequence for experienced professionals, and Arizona State adds business-law or conflict-resolution emphases. This order favors a clear incremental benefit over paying for a master's solely because its title mentions law.
The 3 universities below offer online study from outside Maryland. 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 Maryland
Scroll across the table to compare the study plan and price.
University
Study Format
Credits
Displayed Degree Price
American Public UniversitySchool of Security & Global Studies’ Online Master of Arts in Legal Studies (MA)Online alternative · WV
Online
36
$16,920Calculated base tuition
University of CincinnatiCollege of Law’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · OH
OnlineFive semesters, less than two years
30
$26,730Calculated base tuition2026–2027
Arizona State UniversitySandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · AZ
Online
30
$35,970Calculated tuition + fees2026–2027
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.
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APU's lower standard tuition makes it a first comparison for a Maryland applicant who reviewed the Procurement Academy's targeted training. The 36-credit MA in Legal Studies costs $16,920 in calculated tuition before fees and develops broad legal research, writing and procedural knowledge. Monthly starts and no fixed login times give you ways to align study with a contract or funding calendar.
Where it stands out. If purchasing training handles the immediate procedure, ask how APU would add legal analysis across agreements. Prior graduate coursework may qualify for transfer, up to 15 credits after approval, which could change both the remaining study and price.
What to weigh. Technology fees apply per course, and broad legal study isn't a government-contracting specialty. Arizona State offers a named Business Law emphasis, while Cincinnati provides a preset professional sequence. Compare contract-related coursework directly before choosing APU on tuition alone.
Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources +
How the Program Works
Monthly course starts
Up to 15 approved transfer credits
No entrance exams
Admission Details
Bachelor's degree or higher
No entrance exams
Tuition and Rate Conditions
Calculated standard tuition for 36 credits before the $85 technology fee per course and other fees. Military, veteran, and opportunity grants have separate eligibility conditions.
$470 per credit × 36 credits = $16,920 in base tuition.
The program lists $250 per credit for qualifying active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and military family students, and $399.50 with the veteran grant. The master's technology fee still applies.
Cincinnati is the Maryland option to examine if you bring professional experience and want a defined study sequence rather than build a concentration from scratch. Its asynchronous online MLS requires ten courses, including a capstone, across five semesters with no campus visits. Certificate options add focused study, including business compliance, within the university's legal-studies offerings.
Where it stands out. A contract specialist or supplier representative can ask how the capstone process develops a supported written recommendation. Use Maryland Procurement Academy materials to identify what the master's would add beyond existing training, then compare that added work with APU's general curriculum.
What to weigh. Admission requires two years of professional experience and an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75. The sequence limits course rearrangement. Compare its actual contracting and compliance subjects with ASU's Business Law emphasis, along with the capstone work each plan would support.
Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources +
How the Program Works
Fully online and asynchronous
No campus visits
A ten-course sequence with a capstone
Admission Details
Bachelor's degree
At least two years of professional experience
Undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75
Statement of interest and one recommendation
Tuition and Rate Conditions
2026–2027. Calculated nonresident tuition for 30 credits: $876 instructional tuition plus the $15 nonresident surcharge per credit. Add $84 per credit in general, technology and distance-learning fees, plus other expenses.
$891 per credit × 30 credits = $26,730 in base tuition.
Arizona State brings Business Law and Conflict Resolution emphases to a Maryland procurement comparison. Its online MLS uses ten classes of 7.5 weeks each for 30 total credits. Those two directions let you distinguish the legal questions behind an agreement from the work of resolving a disagreement over performance, a useful choice for professionals on different sides of a public purchase.
Where it stands out. Ask which emphasis addresses your work after procurement training ends. A Maryland public contract provides a specific way to discuss agreements, risk or disputes, and to compare the proposed courses with Cincinnati's defined sequence.
What to weigh. APU provides a published tuition benchmark, and Cincinnati provides a known five-semester sequence. Obtain ASU's complete tuition quote and emphasis schedule before choosing. Shorter terms also make competing work deadlines consequential, so assess the weekly workload rather than treating class length as an automatic convenience.
Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources +
How the Program Works
The MLS requires 30 credits across 10 classes.
Classes run for 7.5 weeks.
The online application does not require an entrance exam.
Documented Subjects and Concentrations
Business Law
Conflict Resolution
Corporate and Health Care Compliance
Admission Details
No entrance exam required
Tuition and Rate Conditions
2026–2027. Calculated online MLS tuition and fees for five terms of six credits, using the published $7,194 six-credit term charge. Books and other expenses are additional; a different course load changes this estimate.
Making Professional Experience Count in a Maryland Application
Cincinnati's MLS is designed to build on an existing career. Its online MLS admissions requirements include at least two years of professional experience, a statement of interest and a recommendation. A Maryland applicant should use those materials to explain a specific connection between previous responsibilities and the legal analysis they want to learn. Read Cincinnati's Maryland assessment before choosing the recommender who can speak to that work. Our legal studies career guide helps you describe a realistic next responsibility rather than promising that the degree will produce a particular job title.
Comparing Transfer Approval With an Accelerated Class Schedule
APU's legal studies MA lists up to 15 approved transfer credits, while ASU organizes its MLS into shorter classes. Those features address different parts of a Maryland applicant's schedule. Transfer approval can change the remaining requirements. Shorter classes change how quickly you move through a particular subject. Compare APU's Maryland review with ASU's assessment after requesting the complete course sequence you would follow. Use the military-friendly rankings if education benefits are part of the budget, and have the university confirm how your planned enrollment interacts with the support you intend to use.
Comparing an MLS With Maryland Procurement Training
Read the Maryland Procurement Academy descriptions and note the skills you still want to develop. Ask MLS programs about contract drafting and review, negotiation, administrative law and the legal issues that arise after an award. A useful capstone might analyze a contract-management problem using public records. Confirm whether the degree's advertised government-contracting content is a full sequence or a single elective. Public procurement training can be a reference point even if you ultimately choose the master's.
Maryland Procurement and Procurement Academy 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 Maryland Career
A contract specialist, project manager and supplier representative approach procurement from different directions. Choose coursework for the decisions you will make in your role. A degree does not automatically confer a procurement certification or satisfy the qualifications of a government position, so compare those requirements independently.
Compliance Officer Pay in Maryland
10th percentile pay
$56,310
Median annual pay
$84,720
90th percentile pay
$132,620
Maryland has an estimated 10,100 compliance officer jobs. The occupation’s median annual wage is $84,720, with the 10th and 90th percentiles at $56,310 and $132,620.
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.
Each ranking card contains the university sources for its curriculum, admission, delivery, and tuition details.
Questions About Legal Studies in Maryland
Should Maryland Procurement Staff Compare an MLS With the Procurement Academy?+
Yes. The Academy offers focused training and certification resources. Use those descriptions to decide whether your goal calls for a specific purchasing skill or the broader legal research and analysis of an MLS.
How Much Government-Contracting Content Should an MLS Include?+
Count the courses you can actually take and inspect their assignments. If contracting is your main purpose, ask for a complete degree plan that includes the subject rather than relying on a concentration label.
