12 Master of Legal Studies FAQs Answered by Program Director

A growing number of companies want their employees to be knowledgeable about the US legal system. The online Master of Legal Studies degree from University of Cincinnati’s College of Law is designed specifically for non-lawyer professionals who want to expand their career opportunities by providing themselves with the knowledge of law, legal terminology, regulations, and procedures.

To help determine if our program is right for you and your goals, we asked Program Director Susan Stephan to answer some frequently asked questions about our Master of Legal Studies program.

12 Frequently Asked Questions about the Master of Legal Studies program:

Who is the Best Candidate for the Master of Legal Studies Program?

Susan’s response:
Probably the best candidates for our Master of Legal Studies program are working professionals who want to learn more about the laws and the regulations as they apply to their particular workplace and their career. We have a nice, broad variety of students from all different sectors, so there’s not a perfect background or career area. This program is for anyone who is a working professional who can see the benefit of learning the law.

What’s the Difference Between a Master of Legal Studies and a Master in Laws?

Susan’s response:
We do often get the question about the difference between the Master of Legal Studies and a Master in Law. A Master of Law, or LLM, is something that the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law also offers but that is designed just for international students or students who have a foreign law degree that would like to learn more about the U.S. laws as they apply to what they might have as goals.

Our Master of Legal Studies is primarily for professionals from anywhere who are interested in learning more about the law but not interested in practicing.

Why is there a Two Year Full-time Professional Work Experience Admission Requirement?

Susan’s response:
The requirement for our Master of Legal Studies program for two years of full-time professional work experience is very important to us because we feel it’s really helpful to the students to benefit from the program.

We want to make sure that when they’re coming in, they have context for the information that they’re going to learn about the laws and the regulations as they apply to a particular workplace – and then can apply it to their workplace to make sure they get the most out of the degree.

What is the Significance of the Program Being 100% Online and Asynchronous?

Susan’s response:
One of the great things about the Master of Legal Studies program is its flexibility. Our program is 100% asynchronous and online, so students are able to, from anywhere there’s an internet connection, login and complete weekly assignments.

There are assignments that are due every week and a schedule that is important to keep up with, but when during the week that work is complete is really up to the students. We have gotten great feedback on the flexibility, and that it’s really beneficial for working professionals.

What are Some Examples of the Courses I Will Take?

Susan’s response:
Our Master of Legal Studies program is designed with a business compliance competency in mind. Our courses will start with a general overview of the law and how the US legal system works, talking a little bit about legal research and professional communication.

Then, we’re really focused on business law, employment law, compliance, risk management, privacy, cybersecurity law, and anything that is going to be helpful in the workplace. There is also a capstone experience at the end of the course where students get to select the area that they want to focus on to dig a little deeper and do a project that reflects their particular interests based on what they’ve learned.

How Can this Degree be Applied in a Professional Setting?

Susan’s response:
Our Master of Legal Studies students are generally able to learn enough about the law and regulations at they apply to their particular workplace to be able to use that practically, sometimes even right away. We’ve had students that have indicated even before their class is over that they have learned so much about a particular area of law as it applies to what they do that they’re able to take that into the workplace right away.

That’s really the goal of our program is to make it really immediately practically applicable.

What do Future Careers for Master of Legal Studies Graduates Look Like?

Susan’s response:
One of the exciting things about being part of a legal master’s program is the growth of these programs in general and the importance to pretty much every work environment of having employees who understand the laws and regulations as they apply.

We’ve seen more and more demand for non-lawyer employees who nonetheless understand enough about the law to really be helpful. There are so many roles like compliance, human resources, and others that are touching on the law all of the time. These programs are not only very fulfilling for the individuals as they move through their careers but also really valuable to employers who are looking more and more for this kind of expertise.

Are There Any Networking or Career Counseling Opportunities?

Susan’s response:
Students in the program really become connected and close particularly since this is an asynchronous, online program, it’s really important to us to give students the ability to get together at least online. We have a robust discussion group that is available for students in addition to opportunities to get involved with the University of Cincinnati’s graduate school population to a greater degree.

Things like – career services and counseling, assistance with resumes, and just the general opportunity to jump in and get involved with the UC community is available to all of our students.

I Work Full-Time and Plan to Continue Working. Is this Program for Me?

Susan’s response:
All of the students in our Master of Legal Studies program currently are full-time working professionals. It is important to us to allow students to come in and maintain their full-time employment and everything else they might have going on in their lives while still being able to complete the program.

It’s important that our students have that professional experience and our program is designed specifically for that student population.

Why is it Important that this Program is Offered Through UC’s College of Law?

Susan’s response:
Our Master of Legal Studies courses were all designed specifically for this program and for our population of students. They are either taught by full-time faculty members from the College of Law or adjunct faculty members who are practicing attorneys with a lot of experience in the particular area that they are addressing.

It’s really important to us that the academic rigor reflect the competitive nature of the College of Law here at the University of Cincinnati. We’re really proud of our faculty and the academic nature of our courses.

What Impact has this Program had on Students?

Susan’s response:
One of the best things about working with this program at UC law is getting to meet these amazing students that we have. We really have seen students from all different sectors, all different levels of experience in the workplace, come and try to improve and make themselves better.

It is an exciting group of students to work with. We’ve absolutely had students who have said this program has given them the confidence to ask for a promotion or a raise and really advance in the workplace, and they’ve been very successful in that. We’ve students that have come in saying they didn’t really know what to expect from the program but they think the law is important and then come out of the program saying they can’t imagine going through their career without having this degree.

It’s been really exciting and rewarding to work with these students who are in the classroom helping each other and sharing stories with their classmates about the things that they have seen in the workplace and this really just makes for such a rich and wonderful environment for the students and for the faculty as well.

Who Is the Program Director of the Master of Legal Studies Program?

Susan’s response:
I’m Susan Stephan and I currently am the director of the Master of Legal Studies program at UC’s College of Law. I started out my career as a practicing attorney many years ago and really loved the law and the practice of law but quickly found my way back to into legal education. I think it’s so important for not only attorneys to be well educated and be prepared to help clients but really the greater populations. That’s why I am so excited to be part of the Master of Legal Studies program that allows working professionals to learn what they need to know about the law.

My practice background included a lot of business work with clients and working professionals like our students, who I understood would benefit greatly from the kind of background they’re getting in this program. For me, this was a natural progression after I practiced law and got into legal education – to focus on the student population who I think can benefit from this kind of information.

Ready to Get Started?

Our enrollment services advisors are ready to answer any other questions you may have and help you decide if our fully online Master of Legal Studies program is right for you. Contact us today!