Best Master’s in Legal Studies Programs for Michigan
Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs organizes resources for professional licensing, business records, administrative hearings and several regulated industries. For a master's in legal studies in Michigan, that is a reminder to choose a specific regulatory problem before choosing a school. A health-system employee, business administrator and construction manager may need different electives. Compare the courses you can actually complete, together with their schedule and total cost.
Michigan's broad licensing and regulatory remit makes industry choice essential. Seton Hall leads for hospital or regulated-product work, Drexel adds a compliance-methods comparison, and St. Mary's offers healthcare study alongside an explicit military-related tuition policy. LARA resources help applicants identify a legal responsibility to add while keeping professional licensing requirements separate from graduate education.
The 3 universities below offer online study from outside Michigan. 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 Michigan
Scroll across the table to compare the study plan and price.
University
Study Format
Credits
Displayed Degree Price
Seton Hall UniversitySeton Hall Law School’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · NJ
OnlineTwo years part time
31
$48,980Calculated base tuition2026–2027
Drexel UniversityThomas R. Kline School of Law’s Online Master of Legal Studies (MLS)Online alternative · PA
OnlineTwo years on average
45Quarter credits
$44,775Calculated base tuition2026–2027
St. Mary's UniversitySchool of Law’s Online Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.)Online alternative · TX
Online1 to 3 years
30
$42,840Calculated 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.
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Seton Hall is a strong first comparison for a Michigan applicant whose LARA-related work concerns a health organization or regulated products. Its MLS distinguishes Health and Hospital Law from Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Law and Compliance, giving you two different specialties to examine. The 31-credit online degree has no campus residency requirement and begins with legal writing, contracts and civil liability.
Where it stands out. Decide whether your work centers on a care organization or regulated products, then request the relevant course sequence. Use Michigan's public licensing materials to identify the legal questions you want the degree to help you analyze.
What to weigh. Drexel offers both healthcare and pharmaceutical compliance directions with auditing and investigation in the core. Compare those process courses with Seton Hall's foundation and specialization. The one-course study pattern still involves substantial reading, and Seton Hall requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA for graduation.
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.
Drexel changes the Michigan comparison by placing compliance auditing, investigations and reporting in the MLS core. Its concentrations include Health Care Compliance and Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Regulatory Compliance, so you can compare both subject and method with Seton Hall. The online degree is intended for professionals who want to evaluate organizational conduct and explain legal risk.
Where it stands out. Use a public Michigan licensing or disciplinary record to describe the kind of fact review you want to understand. Ask how the core builds toward a capstone and whether the relevant concentration's assignments address the decisions closest to your current role.
What to weigh. Tuition for 45 quarter credits calculates to $44,775 before the annual online fee. Drexel plans to adopt semesters in fall 2027. Confirm your cohort's degree map and any eligible military price, then compare the actual offer with St. Mary's benefit.
Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources +
How the Program Works
Compliance auditing and investigation in the core
Capstone sequence
45 quarter credits before the semester transition
Documented Subjects and Concentrations
Criminal Law
Cybersecurity and Information Privacy Compliance
Entrepreneurship and Law
Financial Regulatory Compliance
Health Care Compliance
Higher Education Compliance
Human Resources Compliance
NCAA Compliance and Sports Law
Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Regulatory Compliance
Admission Details
Standardized tests are optional
Tuition and Rate Conditions
2026–2027. Calculated tuition for 45 quarter credits at the 2026–2027 rate, before the $125 annual online graduate program fee. Drexel transitions to a semester calendar in fall 2027.
$995 per quarter credit × 45 credits = $44,775 in base tuition.
The MLS page lists special tuition rates for qualifying military members. These apply to eligible fully online courses, and students must request the benefit within the first two weeks of the term.
St. Mary's offers Health Care Compliance within a 30-credit online MLS, with completion from one to three years. In this Michigan comparison, it adds a specific military-related tuition policy to the subject decision: eligible active-duty and retired military applicants, DoD employees and qualifying spouses may receive an $800-per-credit rate. That would total $24,000 in tuition for 30 credits.
Where it stands out. Ask how the healthcare concentration addresses the organizational obligations you encounter, using a LARA public resource to explain your interest. If the military rate may apply, obtain the eligibility decision and complete course plan together so the benefit doesn't overshadow curriculum fit.
What to weigh. Seton Hall and Drexel distinguish healthcare from pharmaceutical and medical-device study. Compare St. Mary's actual courses with the specialty closest to your goal. Obtain its meeting schedule, fee list and any military-rate approval together, then calculate the whole degree bill.
Curriculum, Admission, Tuition, and Sources +
How the Program Works
The degree requires 30 credits.
Accelerated full-time study can finish in one year.
The degree was formerly called the Master of Jurisprudence.
Documented Subjects and Concentrations
Business and Entrepreneurship Law
Business Risk and Intelligence
Compliance, Business Law and Risk
Cyber and Data Security
Education Law
Health Care Compliance
Employment and Human Resource Law
Commercial Law
Criminal Justice
Natural Resource Law
Territorial Law
Tuition and Rate Conditions
2026–2027. Calculated part-time MLS tuition for 30 credits with each term kept within the 1–7-credit tuition band. The 8–11 and 12–17 credit semester bands use different charges. Fees and materials are additional.
$1,428 per credit × 30 credits = $42,840 in base tuition.
St. Mary's publishes an $800-per-credit MLS rate for active-duty military, retired military, DoD employees and their spouses. Eligible tuition assistance can reduce the student share further. Confirm eligibility with financial assistance.
Checking the Academic Standard Before Starting a Health-Law MLS
A Michigan applicant considering Seton Hall should read the academic rules alongside the specialization list. The university's MLS academic policy requires 31 credits and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for graduation. Ask how instructors provide feedback, what support is available when a course becomes difficult and how the sequence handles a repeated class. The Seton Hall comparison for Michigan explains its health and regulated-product choices. The healthcare legal studies rankings let you examine those subjects across universities while keeping academic expectations visible in your decision.
Requesting a Military Tuition Decision at the Right Time
Drexel's MLS page tells eligible students to request special tuition savings within the first two weeks of the term. If military pricing affects your Michigan shortlist, confirm the process before registration and retain the university's response. Compare the approved price with St. Mary's Michigan option, including which applicant categories each policy covers. Our military and veteran rankings brings those degree-level policies together. The administrative deadline should be part of your enrollment checklist, alongside course selection and payment dates, so the tuition comparison reflects the rate you actually qualify to use.
Finding the Right Regulatory Focus in Michigan
Use LARA's bureau list to identify the part of regulation closest to your work. Then ask programs how they combine administrative law and legal research with the relevant industry courses. Check whether MLS students can take an advertised law-school elective and whether it will run before you graduate. If you want to move into a new industry, compare the legal curriculum with any technical experience expected there. The degree should add a clear capability to your current preparation.
Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs 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 Michigan Career
LARA provides public licensing and disciplinary resources, along with veteran liaison information. These can help you distinguish understanding an agency process from qualifying for a particular occupation. Use that distinction when selecting courses or comparing military benefits. Graduate study, professional licensure and veterans' services each have their own rules.
Compliance Officer Pay in Michigan
10th percentile pay
$46,290
Median annual pay
$77,390
90th percentile pay
$120,560
Michigan has an estimated 9,720 compliance officer jobs. The occupation’s median annual wage is $77,390, with the 10th and 90th percentiles at $46,290 and $120,560.
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 Michigan
How Can Michigan's LARA Website Help Me Choose an MLS?+
Its bureau and resource structure helps identify your regulatory subject. Use that subject to compare administrative-law study, industry electives and practical assignments in each program.
Will a Regulatory MLS Qualify Me for Every Michigan Licensed Profession?+
No. LARA's boards and licensing resources describe requirements for separate occupations. Evaluate the master's for legal knowledge and check professional eligibility through the responsible board.
