Paralegal work, in a nutshell, encompasses all the legal tasks that do not require being a lawyer to perform. Paralegals, sometimes called Legal Assistants in some organizations, are supervised by one or more lawyers and work in support of said lawyers. Paralegals might work for a business, or on a contract basis, and need at least an associate’s degree, or a suitable certificate paired with a bachelor’s degree.
This college rankings article focuses on online degrees in paralegal studies and related topics, at the associate’s level. Some of the programs referenced may also prepare students for professional certification exams. If you are interested in bachelor-level programs, see our college rankings article on the 15 most affordable bachelor’s degrees in Paralegal Studies
Careers in Paralegal Work
The list below shows some of the jobs and organizations/ industries where career opportunities lie, for graduates of associate’s degrees in paralegal studies and closely-related topics. The information is compiled from the Web pages of the 15 colleges ranked in this article. (Note: some organizations use the term Legal Assistant for roles that are not in fact the same as a Paralegal.)
- administrative support worker
- banks
- businesses
- colleges
- community legal service organizations
- constitutional law paralegal
- consumer organizations
- contract clerk
- corporate legal departments
- corporate legal team member
- corporate paralegal
- corporations
- court clerk
- courts
- criminal law paralegal
- freelancer
- government agencies
- government departments
- government offices
- government paralegal
- information clerk
- insurance companies
- judicial paralegal
- law clerk
- law firm administrator
- law firms
- law libraries
- legal advocate
- legal assistant
- legal document preparer
- legal investigator
- legal secretary
- legal support worker
- legal technician
- litigation paralegal
- nursing paralegal
- office clerk
- paralegal
- public defender paralegal
- real estate development companies
- real estate paralegal
- social security paralegal
- title abstractor
- title examiner
- title insurance paralegal
- title searcher
- trust officer
Rankings: Affordable Online Associate’s Degrees in Paralegal Studies
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15: Marshalltown Community College

Marshalltown Community College (MCC) is a public community college established in 1927. MCC is part of the Iowa Valley Community College District and its main campus is in Marshalltown, Iowa, some 50 northeast of Des Moines, IA, and about 245 miles south and slightly east of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Original name: Marshalltown Junior College.
MCC offers two online Paralegal programs, both of which are associate’s degrees. The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Paralegal requires 64 credit hours, with about 31 for program requirements (incl. a practicum). This degree provides students with the legal knowledge and research, writing, and technological skills needed to become successful paralegals or legal assistants. Paralegals can find work with banks, corporate legal departments, government agencies, insurance companies, or law offices. Students who want to continue on to a Paralegal Bachelor’s degree should take MCC’s transfer degree option — the 64-credit-hour Associate in Arts (AA) with an Emphasis in Paralegal.
Sample courses: Administrative and Bankruptcy Law; Advanced Legal Research and Writing; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Employment Law; Estate Planning and Probate Law; Family Law; Legal Practicum
Graduation rate: 23%. Transfer-out rate: 23%. In-state tuition: $4,416. Out-of-state tuition: $4,656. Yearly average net price: $8,037. Student population: 2041. # undergrads: 2041. # grads: 0. Campus setting: Rural: Fringe. Campus housing avail.: Yes. Areavibes.com cost of living score: A+. 14: 14: Prince George’s Community College Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) is a public community college established in 1958. PGCC’s main campus is located in Largo, Maryland, some 40 miles southwest of Baltimore, MD, and around 15 miles east of Washington, DC. PGCC offers two online Paralegal programs: one Associate’s degree and one certificate. The Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Paralegal/ Legal Assistant requires at least 60 credits, with about 30 for paralegal and criminal justice courses and electives (incl. cooperative education and internship/ practicum options). This AAS prepares students to become legal assistants or paralegals, working for corporations, government agencies, law firms, or providing their services on a freelance basis. Students with this degree will also be able to continue on to a bachelor’s degree. PGCC’s other online Paralegal program is its 30-credit Paralegal/ Legal Assistant Certificate (which can later be applied toward the AAS). Sample courses: Contracts; Criminal Law; Criminal Evidence and Procedures; Legal Ethics; Legal Writing; Techniques of Legal Research; Torts Graduation rate: 9%. Transfer-out rate: 24%. In-state tuition: $5,762. Out-of-state tuition: $8,090. Yearly average net price: $7,986. Student population: 13678. # undergrads: 13678. # grads: 0. Campus setting: Suburb: Large. Campus housing avail.: No. Areavibes.com cost of living score: D. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() NOTES In terms of topic categories searched in the NCES.ed.gov database, we queried for programs in the category “Legal Assistant/Paralegal.” For online degree rankings, if a college does not report graduation rate, it is shown as 0% for that institution, for the purposes of charting and statistical summaries. A college’s tuition for online programs may differ than that quoted for the on-campus program. This could be due to either or both of technology fees and out-of-state-portion waivers. Check with a college if you’re unsure. We have listed the tuition and net price values recorded in the NCES.ed.gov database. As accreditation can change or only be valid regionally, please verify accreditation of any college to which you are planning to apply. NCES data is subject to change and some of these “affordable degrees” guides may use more recent data than described in the Methodology. For the full list of programs covered to date, please check our School Rankings page. Online programs are strongly self-directed and recommended only for students who are self-driven when it comes to studying and researching. Some online program selection tips: Spend the time to carefully read the degree requirements. Browse the course curriculum and make notes of the courses that interest you most. Consider creating a spreadsheet to compare summaries of course/ programs across the schools referenced here. If you are looking for a minimum set of courses, make a list of those courses, one per column. Then list ranked schools vertically in the spreadsheet, one per row. Color code or make an annotation for each course offered by a given school. Add other columns to record information about tuition, net price, #credits/ courses required, etc., and color code their cells as suitable. This visual approach to online program selection can be quite effective compared to staring at bare numbers. The methodology for this series on online bachelor’s degrees is essentially the same as for our 15-school college rankings list. For example, see the “Methodology” section of the ranking list article 15 of the Most Affordable Bachelor’s Degrees in Marketing for an explanation of the process we use to rank colleges in each topical bachelor’s list. Other Rankings of Interest: 20 Tuition-Free Colleges The 10 Most Affordable Law Schools in the United States The 50 Most Affordable Colleges with the Best Return 15 Best Affordable Paralegal Studies Degree Programs (Bachelor’s) 25 Most Affordable Large, Private, Nonprofit Bachelor’s Colleges 30 Most Inviting Yet Affordable College Dorms in America 25 Largest HBCU Bachelor’s Colleges by Enrollment The 30 Most Affordable Online Bachelor’s-Granting Historically Black Colleges/ Universities |