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Legislative aide education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a legislative aide. Legislative aides usually study political science, business, or law. 77% of legislative aides hold a bachelor's degree, and 10% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,959 real legislative aide resumes to see exactly what legislative aide education sections show.

The most common colleges for legislative aides are the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Austin.

There are also many online legislative aide courses to help get the education required to be a legislative aide.

What education do you need to become a legislative aide?

What degree do you need to be a legislative aide?

The most common degree for legislative aides is bachelor's degree, with 77% of legislative aides earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 10% and master's degree degree at 5%.
  • Bachelor's, 77%
  • Master's, 10%
  • Doctorate, 5%
  • Associate, 5%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a legislative aide?

You should major in political science to become a legislative aide. 39% of legislative aides major in political science. Other common majors for a legislative aide include business and law.

Most common colleges for legislative aides

Legislative aides often get their degrees at University of Texas at Austin, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University. Here are the most common colleges for legislative aides in the US based on their resumes.
Legislative aide common collegePercentages
University of Texas at Austin12.44%
Ohio State University11.54%
Michigan State University6.56%
University of Maryland - College Park6.33%
Georgia State University6.33%

Best majors for legislative aides

RankMajorPercentages
1Political Science38.9%
2Business8.0%
3Law6.3%
4History5.7%
5Communication5.2%

Best colleges for legislative aides

The best colleges for legislative aides are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A legislative aide with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for legislative aides. 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 legislative aides.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

5. Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$30,300

Enrollment

1,445

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

7. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

10. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

20 best online courses for legislative aides

Advertising disclosure

1. Global Health Policy

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In this course, learners will become familiar with principles and theories of global health problems, and major challenges and controversies in improving global population health as well as practical applications of quantitative methods to analyze and interpret issues and challenges for policy. Topics will include health and foreign policy, health governance, acute disease surveillance, non-communicable diseases, burden of disease, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, health...

2. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners

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In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...

3. 2017 Great Decisions: Foreign Policy Association

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4.5
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Learn about leading foreign policy challenges confronting U.S. policy makers and the American public...

4. Master Public Policy Analysis In Six Easy Steps: The Basics

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4.3
(545)

An Introduction to Policy Analysis Concepts and Practice For The Real World!...

5. Trade & investment: evidence-based policies for development

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This MOOC prepares students that want to analyse trade and investment policies of developing countries and emerging markets. We couch you for the task of giving evidence-based policy. For students interested in policy advise the course brings a sound understanding of what can and what cannot be done with well-established theories and state-of-the-art research. For students interested in research the asset of this course is to learn how to effectively communicate research findings in a policy...

6. The Art and Science of Economic Policy

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Economic policy affects every citizen. And economic policymaking is best done as a collaborative process with a wide range of stakeholders. This course brings an understanding of the relevance and impacts of economic policymaking in everyday life, and the ways for citizens to be involved in shaping economic policy, in an accessible and interesting manner. Taught by Dr. Vijay Kelkar and Dr. Ajay Shah, along with Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS, the course synthesises more than one hundred years of...

7. Master Public Policy Analysis: Advanced

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4
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Learn Advanced Policy Analysis Concepts and Practice For The Real World!...

8. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course

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Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...

9. Engineering Life: Synbio, Bioethics & Public Policy

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Synbio is a diverse field with diverse applications, and the different contexts (e.g., gain-of-function research, biofuels) raise different ethical and governance challenges. The objective of this course is to increase learners’ awareness and understanding of ethical and policy/governance issues that arise in the design, conduct and application of synthetic biology. The course will begin with a short history of recombinant DNA technology and how governance of that science developed and evolved,...

10. Critical Issues in Urban Education

coursera

Urban school reform in the United States is characterized by contentious, politicized debate. This course explores a set of critical issues in the education and educational reform space, with a focus on aspects of the field that have sparked controversy and polarized views. We will dig into these debates, situating them within the larger history of public education and school reform, and considering the viewpoints, the evidence, and translation of issues into educational policy. We will...

11. Mastering Group Policy on Windows Server

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4.7
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An IT person's guide to managing Active Directory Users and Computers with Group Policy...

12. Translating Research to Healthcare Policy

coursera

In this course, you will learn about the process of evaluating the real-world outcomes of health research. You will learn important terminology and concepts as you explore how the outcomes of health research can influence health policy and practice. The readings, videos, and activities in this course should be completed in the order they are presented to ensure that you will have the best learning experience possible. This course will be of interest to graduate students, health professions...

13. Global Energy and Climate Policy

coursera

The Global Energy and Climate Policy course offers an introduction to the theoretical and practical understanding of how energy and climate change policies are designed, shaped, advocated and implemented. As energy markets go truly global, domestic energy policies are becoming more and more entangled with wider issues of international governance. Concurrently, the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change and transition to a low-carbon future is adding a further layer of complexity...

14. Justice and Equity in Technology Policy

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More than ever, technology is shaping, and being shaped by, public policy. This has an enormous impact, particularly for marginalized communities. The artificial intelligence and computer algorithms increasingly driving government and industry decisions—from the allocation of social services to hiring—are reflecting and reinforcing social biases towards women, people of color, and disabled people, among others. Global climate change is having a disproportionately negative impact on low- and...

15. FinTech Law and Policy

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Being a successful FinTech firm requires more than just great technology; it also requires an understanding of the laws and regulations applicable to your business. This course will provide you with that understanding. You will learn about the critical legal, regulatory, and policy issues associated with cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, online lending, new payments and wealth management technologies, and financial account aggregators. In addition, you will learn how regulatory agencies...

16. Power and Foreign Policy in International Relations

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Welcome to the Power and Foreign Policy in International Relations course! This course acquaints you with how power matters in the conduct of international relations and how it affects the strategies and tactics of a nation-state in dealing with other nation-states. It demonstrates the link between a country’s ranking in the international system and the means and methods it adopts to deal with the rest of the world. The course begins with introducing a few concepts about what constitutes power...

17. Breastfeeding: Public Health Perspectives

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Engaging in this course will provide you with the opportunity to think about breastfeeding and its public health implications. The Socio-Ecological Model will be the framework of the course as we think about how each level of the Model (individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and public policy) impacts breastfeeding practices in the United States, and globally. Through short video lectures you will be introduced to relevant topics related to the public health perspectives of...

18. Bats, Ducks, and Pandemics: An Introduction to One Health Policy

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Welcome to "Bats, Ducks, and Pandemics: An Introduction to One Health Policy". One Health is the concept that human, animal, and environmental/ecosystem health are linked. The concept provides a useful framework for examining complex health issues such as food safety and security, emerging and vector-borne diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. It can be used to analyze government policies to determine if they are effective in improving health and well-being. Agriculture is the foundation of...

19. Systems Thinking In Public Health

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This course provides an introduction to systems thinking and systems models in public health. Problems in public health and health policy tend to be complex with many actors, institutions and risk factors involved. If an outcome depends on many interacting and adaptive parts and actors the outcome cannot be analyzed or predicted with traditional statistical methods. Systems thinking is a core skill in public health and helps health policymakers build programs and policies that are aware of and...

20. The Making of US Foreign Policy

coursera

Welcome to The Making of US Foreign Policy course! This course seeks to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the United States’ Foreign Policy (USFP). Through this course, you will look at the evolution of USFP from its founding to the present. You will analyze the role of the institutions which play a role in defining USFP. You will also explore how the USFP relies on trade and economic interdependence to define global economic relations...

Top 10 most affordable universities for legislative aides

The most affordable schools for legislative aides are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for legislative aides 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 legislative aides.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

6. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

7. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

8. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

10. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for legislative aides

The hardest universities for legislative aides to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for legislative aides 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 legislative aides 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

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. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

9. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,448

10. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for legislative aides

The easiest schools for legislative aides to get into are Barry University, wayland baptist university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a legislative aide 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 legislative aides.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

5. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

6. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

7. Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,099

8. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

9. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

10. University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,020

Average legislative aide salary by education level

Legislative aides with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $43,715 annually. With a Associate degree, legislative aides earn a median annual income of $38,903 compared to $37,798 for legislative aides with an Bachelor's degree.
Legislative aide education levelLegislative aide salary
Master's Degree$43,715
High School Diploma or Less$31,154
Bachelor's Degree$37,798
Some College/ Associate Degree$38,903

Legislative aide education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.