Best Online Associate in Paralegal Studies

BEST ONLINE ASSOCIATE'S IN PARALEGAL STUDIES

Find top-ranked online associate in paralegal studies degree programs for students wanting to either continue in their legal education or gain employment as paralegals or legal assistants for a variety of private and public entities.

Top 10 Online Paralegal Studies Associate Degrees

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  1. University of Cincinnati
  2. University of Alaska Fairbanks
  3. Liberty University
  4. Eastern Kentucky University
  5. Tallahassee Community College
  6. Purdue Global
  7. Keiser University
  8. Navarro College
  9. University of the Cumberlands
  10. Hinds Community College
  1. Liberty University 99%
  2. Eastern Kentucky University 98%
  3. Keiser University 96%
  4. University of Cincinnati 85%
  5. University of the Cumberlands 85%
  6. University of Alaska Fairbanks 65%
  1. Purdue Global 28 to 1
  2. Tallahassee Community College 23 to 1
  3. Navarro College 22 to 1
  4. Carl Albert State College 21 to 1
  5. Hillsborough Community College 21 to 1
  6. Northwest Mississippi Community College 20 to 1
  7. University of the Cumberlands 20 to 1
  8. University of Cincinnati 19 to 1
  9. Herkimer County Community College 19 to 1
  10. Ocean County College 18 to 1
  1. Liberty University $22,713
  2. Keiser University $22,000
  3. Hodges University $14,780
  4. University of Cincinnati $10,099
  5. Purdue Global $10,080
  6. University of the Cumberlands $9,875
  7. Eastern Kentucky University $9,452
  8. Luzerne County Community College $8,040
  9. University of Alaska Fairbanks $7,296
  10. Missouri Western State University $6,900
  1. Keiser University $29,632
  2. Hodges University $14,940
  3. University of Cincinnati $13,224
  4. University of Alaska Fairbanks $11,265
  5. Eastern Kentucky University $9,900
  6. Purdue Global $8,730
  7. Liberty University $7,847
  8. Missouri Western State University $6,840
  9. University of the Cumberlands $4,282
  1. Western Piedmont Community College
  2. Luzerne County Community College
  3. Central Carolina Community College
  4. Northwest Mississippi Community College
  5. Ocean County College
  6. Herkimer County Community College
  7. Kirkwood Community College
  8. Hodges University
  9. Trinity Valley Community College
  10. Tompkins Cortland Community College
  1. University of Alaska Fairbanks 65%
  2. University of the Cumberlands 85%
  3. University of Cincinnati 85%
  4. Keiser University 96%
  5. Eastern Kentucky University 98%
  6. Liberty University 99%
  1. Western Piedmont Community College 10 to 1
  2. University of Alaska Fairbanks 11 to 1
  3. Tompkins Cortland Community College 11 to 1
  4. Hodges University 12 to 1
  5. Central Carolina Community College 13 to 1
  6. Central Texas College 14 to 1
  7. Trinity Valley Community College 15 to 1
  8. Eastern Kentucky University 15 to 1
  9. Keiser University 15 to 1
  10. Luzerne County Community College 15 to 1
  1. Trinity Valley Community College $1,170
  2. Navarro College $1,620
  3. Hillsborough Community College $1,931
  4. Tallahassee Community College $2,002
  5. Central Carolina Community College $2,432
  6. Western Piedmont Community College $2,432
  7. Yavapai College $2,600
  8. Carl Albert State College $2,737
  9. Northwest Mississippi Community College $3,200
  10. Hinds Community College $3,500
  1. University of the Cumberlands $4,282
  2. Missouri Western State University $6,840
  3. Liberty University $7,847
  4. Purdue Global $8,730
  5. Eastern Kentucky University $9,900
  6. University of Alaska Fairbanks $11,265
  7. University of Cincinnati $13,224
  8. Hodges University $14,940
  9. Keiser University $29,632

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Paralegal Studies Degrees

An associate degree in paralegal studies is a great starting point for individuals interested in working as legal assistants or paralegals.

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Paralegals play an integral part in the legal system, conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, and managing client and witness interviews.

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Degree completion takes about two years, and most online and on-campus programs require 60 or more credits.

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Classes can include the Fundamentals of Law, Litigations, Wills and Trusts, Introduction to Constitutional Law, Legal Writing, Bankruptcy, and Probate Procedures.

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After graduating, students can either continue in their legal education or gain employment as paralegals or legal assistants for a variety of private and public entities.

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Learn more about how to major in law.

Best Online Associate's in Paralegal Degree

Paralegals and Legal Assistants Salaries by Percentile in the U.S.

The following graph depicts the average salaries of Paralegals and Legal Assistants for each percentile in the U.S.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

SVG Attribution: Wikipedia

Total Employed: 336250
10%
15%
50%
15%
10%
bell-curve
3641045390562307275088640
10th Percentile25th Percentile75th Percentile90th Percentile

Best Online Associate’s in Paralegal Degree Programs

  1. #1

    University of Cincinnati

    Cincinnati , OH
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $12K

    Acceptance

    85%

    Graduation

    73%

    Student body

    34K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1225/26

    Online Degrees

    AAB in Law & Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  2. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $9K

    Acceptance

    65%

    Graduation

    38%

    Student body

    4K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1160/22

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  3. #3

    Liberty University

    Lynchburg , VA
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $23K

    Acceptance

    99%

    Graduation

    62%

    Student body

    79K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1145/25

    Online Degrees

    AA in Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  4. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Acceptance

    98%

    Graduation

    48%

    Student body

    12K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1060/22

    Online Degrees

    Associate in Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  5. #5

    Purdue Global

    West Lafayette , IN
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Graduation

    29%

    Student body

    49K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Legal Support And Services
    • Required Credits: 90
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
    AAS in Legal Support And Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  6. Tuition + fees

    $2K

    Graduation

    40%

    Student body

    9K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Paralegal and Legal Studies
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  7. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    37%

    Student body

    6K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal Technology
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  8. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Acceptance

    85%

    Graduation

    48%

    Student body

    16K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1035/21

    Online Degrees

    AAS/AS in Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 61
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  9. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    8K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal
    • Required Credits: 60-61
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  10. #15

    Kirkwood Community College

    Cedar Rapids , IA

    Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    37%

    Student body

    8K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: None Reported
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  11. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    1K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Pre-Law Criminal Justice
    • Required Credits: 62-67
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  12. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    35%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal Technology
    • Required Credits: 75
    • Completion time: 2 Years
    • Format: Online
  13. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    51%

    Student body

    1K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Associate In Applied Sciences

    Concentrations

    • Paralegal Technology
    • Required Credits: 67
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  14. #22

    Yavapai College

    Prescott , AZ

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 61
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  15. Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Graduation

    20%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Legal Assisting (paralegal)
    • Required Credits: 62
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  16. #25

    Ocean County College

    Toms River , NJ

    Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    39%

    Student body

    6K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Paralegal Studies
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Online College-Bound Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.