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Legal compliance officer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a legal compliance officer. Legal compliance officers usually study law, business, or political science. 52% of legal compliance officers hold a bachelor's degree, and 26% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 930 real legal compliance officer resumes to see exactly what legal compliance officer education sections show.
The most common colleges for legal compliance officers are the New York Law School and the New York Law School.
There are also many online legal compliance officer courses to help get the education required to be a legal compliance officer.
What education do you need to become a legal compliance officer?
What degree do you need to be a legal compliance officer?
- Bachelor's, 52%
- Doctorate, 26%
- Master's, 13%
- Associate, 4%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a legal compliance officer?
Most common colleges for legal compliance officers
| Legal compliance officer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| New York Law School | 10.68% |
| University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras Campus | 9.71% |
| Georgetown University | 7.77% |
| American University | 7.77% |
| United States Naval Academy | 6.80% |
Best majors for legal compliance officers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Law | 46.1% |
| 2 | Business | 8.5% |
| 3 | Political Science | 7.1% |
| 4 | Legal Research And Advanced Professional Studies | 6.9% |
| 5 | Criminal Justice | 3.9% |
Best colleges for legal compliance officers
The best colleges for legal compliance officers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A legal compliance officer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for legal compliance officers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become legal compliance officers.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
9. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
10. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
20 best online courses for legal compliance officers
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5. AWS: Network Security, Compliance and Governance
AWS: Network Security, Compliance and Governance is the third course of Exam Prep ANS-C01: AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty specialization. This course will help learners designing and implementing AWS Security and compliance. You will also get a chance to evaluate monitoring strategies in support of security and compliance objectives. Learners will also get a chance to manage, optimize and troubleshoot AWS Network. The course is divided into two modules and each module is further...
6. What is Corruption: Anti-Corruption and Compliance
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12. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Compliance
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13. Build Powerful Compliance Programs & Prevent Corporate Fraud
Learn everything you need to know to build an effective and powerful compliance culture and prevent corporate fraud...
14. Legal English
Legal language and communication skills...
15. Cryptocurrency Financial Crime Compliance Bootcamp
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16. HIPAA Compliance Complete Course
Protecting Patients and Practices...
17. 3-in-1 Banking, Banking Risk and Compliance Masterclass
The essentials of the banking business (business model, compliance, others), financial risk management and compliance...
18. GDPR Compliance & Data Protection/Data Privacy for Beginners
Learn about the basics of GDPR Compliance, Data Privacy and Data Protection in this 30 minute training course...
19. The Complete Guide To Anti Money Laundering (AML) Compliance
What You Should Know about Anti Money Laundering (AML), AML Compliance, AML Policies, and Know Your Customer (KYC)...
20. AML Essentials: Anti Money Laundering, KYC and Compliance
Learn the Basics of Money Laundering, AML, Risk Based Approach, AML Compliance Programs, KYC, CDD, EDD, PEP, and more!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for legal compliance officers
The most affordable schools for legal compliance officers are University of Florida, suny farmingdale, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for legal compliance officers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for legal compliance officers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
5. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
6. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
7. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
8. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for legal compliance officers
The hardest universities for legal compliance officers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for legal compliance officers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for legal compliance officers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
6. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
9. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
10. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for legal compliance officers
The easiest schools for legal compliance officers to get into are Barry University, university of north texas at dallas, and oklahoma wesleyan university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a legal compliance officer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for legal compliance officers.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
4. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
5. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
6. University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,020
7. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
8. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
9. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
10. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
Average legal compliance officer salary by education level
| Legal compliance officer education level | Legal compliance officer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $115,078 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $74,162 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $98,727 |
| Doctorate Degree | $135,872 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $80,500 |
Legal compliance officer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025