How Long Does It Take to Earn a Master of Legal Studies (MLS)?

While a Juris Doctor (J.D.), or doctor of jurisprudence, is essential for practicing attorneys, increasing your practical legal knowledge benefits you in any industry. Even so, the thought of going back to school can be overwhelming—especially for working professionals. 

However, earning your Master of Legal Studies degree may take less time than you think. For Amanda Feltner, a recent legal studies (MLS) graduate, the time flew by thanks to her support system and the flexibility of online learning. 

A master of legal studies (MLS) gives you a greater working knowledge of the legal system, which you can then apply to your current role or industry. While some organizations have an in-house legal department, that isn't always feasible. 

A legal studies degree differs from law school in that it doesn’t prepare you to practice law. Rather, the degree equips you with a more sophisticated understanding of laws and regulations in the US.  

Constitutional law is the foundation of the MLS degree. After completing their introductory coursework, MLS students dive into areas of law that are useful for non-lawyers to understand. An MLS curriculum may include:

• Business law 

• Compliance

• Contracts 

• Employment law

• Labor law 

• Risk management

Reasons for earning an MLS degree vary greatly from person to person. For example, a human resources professional may pursue their MLS degree to increase their knowledge of employment and labor laws. And in highly regulated sectors—such as the manufacturing, financial, and transportation industries—an MLS equips you to protect your organization from legal issues. 

For Amanda, a Master of Legal Studies degree perfectly complemented her career as a data specialist within a local health care system. Eighteen years into her career, she wasn't looking to start from scratch in a different field. She debated earning her J.D. at first, but then she discovered the MLS. She quickly realized it was the right program for her. 

"It’s everything that I need,” Amanda recalled thinking. “It’s not anything that I don’t need. Everything that I’ve learned in the Master of Legal Studies goes into what I do on a day-to-day basis.”

What’s the most daunting aspect of earning a master’s degree? A common answer is the potential time commitment. It’s not surprising. After all, if you’ve been in the workforce for several years, the last thing you want to consider is devoting your precious free time to school—along with your pile of other responsibilities.

Fortunately, an MLS is a faster graduate degree to complete than most. As it’s already designed with working students in mind, the program can be completed in five terms by taking two seven-week classes per semester—in other words, less than two years. 

Compare this to the average timeline for graduate students: most master’s degrees take two years for full-time students and three to five years for part-time students.

For Amanda, the time commitment was worthwhile. “I started in October of 2023, and I finished in December of 2024—and I think I only took one semester off,” she said of her MLS experience. “It went quickly, but it didn’t feel rushed. I didn’t feel like I was on this huge deadline.” 

Online learning has numerous benefits—chief among them being flexibility. Luckily, many MLS programs are offered entirely online. A legal studies degree is inherently flexible; it’s shaped by the unique career goals of each student. Similarly, an online MLS can also be tailored to give students flexibility in how and when they learn. 

For Amanda, as well as many others, this was the major draw of an MLS. “While it is very structured, and there are, you know, deadlines and due dates and everything, it was still something I could do at my own pace,” she said. 

With asynchronous learning, Amanda didn’t have to take time off work to attend scheduled online lectures. And while she started in the fall, many online MLS programs offer multiple start dates, which allows you to begin in spring, summer, or fall.

A typical MLS degree requires 30 credit hours to complete. Even with this straightforward requirement, your graduation timeline is still unique to you. Some factors that could affect how long it takes you to earn your degree include: 

If you enroll in fewer courses per semester than the recommended amount, you may need more time to finish your degree. On the other hand, enrolling full time rather than part time often allows you to graduate faster. 

When you're in graduate school, it’s normal to have other obligations competing for your time and attention. Your responsibilities at work or home may occasionally put your education on the backburner.

You can’t predict the future, and sometimes life circumstances make it necessary to take a break from school. While this won’t stop you from finishing your degree, it may extend your degree completion timeline.

Even though online learners prioritize flexibility, they still need structure to succeed. A clear degree plan and communicative, supportive faculty and staff allow you to graduate as quickly as possible. 

Not only does Amanda Feltner work full time—she’s also a mother of three and grandmother to a four-year-old. That's plenty to balance even before throwing school into the mix. As someone returning to school later in life, she needed ample flexibility in her legal studies.

While the flexible nature of her degree made a difference, the encouragement and support she received from her professors and family also went a long way in balancing it all. Throughout Amanda’s program, her husband was her biggest supporter.  

“He has supported me every step of the way. Going back to school, I said, ‘You're going to have to let me study at night. You're going to have to help me around the house.' And he said, ‘Okay, whatever it takes. I know you want to do this.’”

For Amanda, earning her MLS has been a game changer at work—in large part due to how easily she’s been able to retain what she learned. “I was able to not just learn it for the class but to retain it, and then I have all these resources to go back and look at. It was perfect for me.” 

Graduating with her MLS also gave her “a little boost” career-wise; she attributes her promotion to the risk management department as largely thanks to her degree. Regardless of whether you work in health care or another industry, an MLS opens doors to career advancement and a greater awareness of legal issues.

“Once I started it, I had to do it for myself,” Amanda reflected. “It wasn't in honor of dad—or it wasn't to show my kids that it could be done. It was: I can do this.” 

Amanda is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s online Master of Legal Studies program. We’re so proud of her accomplishments at UC and beyond! Listen to her full story below. 

Interested in growing your legal knowledge? Whether you’re an entrepreneur or work within a larger organization, earning your MLS makes you a professional asset and sets you up for career success. At UC, you can earn your MLS online in less than two years—just like Amanda. 

To get the ball rolling, connect with UC today. Our team of Enrollment Services Advisors and Student Success Coordinators are ready to offer personalized guidance and help you determine your path forward.