Only the top law schools in the United States receive accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) for their law degree and paralegal education programs.
This article reviews some of the country's best law schools which provide ABA-accredited paralegal certificate programs.
Note: some of these schools may have tuition rates which are beyond the means of everyday students. Fortunately, there are a large number of quality paralegal programs, and students are encouraged to consider other options if the schools reviewed in this article are not financially or logistically within reach.
Paralegal Certification – Georgetown University
GU, which in 2010 was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as having the best law school in the United States, offers a competitive, ABA-accredited paralegal certificate program.
The program prepares students to work in law firms, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations, and trains them to perform analytical legal tasks at the highest level.
Students in the GU program have two primary scheduling options for certificate paralegal courses: a part-time, evening program and a full-time intensive program during the summer. In the evening program, which lasts a year, students take five classes a semester for three 13-week semesters. In the summer program, students study full-time for one continuous period of 14 weeks.
For more information on tuition and admissions, contact GU at (202) 687-8700.
Certificate Paralegal – University of California, Irvine
UC Irvine offers one of the few online paralegal education programs which has received ABA-accreditation. For those pursuing certification, paralegal students receive the following benefits:
- Online classes on a flexible, asynchronous schedule
- Centralized online course management syste
- Quality faculty with mastery in the field
- The establishment of contacts for future employment
- Freedom to select individual courses from the program's offerings
- Dedicated academic support services
The program requires that students complete a total of 300 credit-hours of instruction, and must finish the program within five years of first enrolling (though the program takes approximately a year for those studying part-time consistently).
For more information on tuition and requirements, contact UC Irvine at (949) 824-1228.
Certification Paralegal – Syracuse University
SU offers an ABA-accredited credit certificate paralegal program, along with an accredited bachelor's degree.
The credit certificate is intended for those students who have already attained an associate degree (or diploma of equal worth) and would like to take classes to either attain a full bachelor's degree or be prepared to enter the marketplace immediately.
Students in the program are required to take 26 credits in specialty paralegal courses, and can do so via evening classes over three semesters.
For more information on tuition and requirements, contact SU at 315-443-3299.
ABA-accredited Paralegal Certificate
Degrees earned at paralegal programs with ABA-approval are often looked upon more favorably by prospective employers than degrees earned at schools without certification.
For students who find programs which match their educational needs (both financial and logistical) should be sure that, if they do not have ABA-accreditation, that they at least have been accredited by a board recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
For more information on additional paralegal and professional training programs, see also:
Medical Billing and Coding Courses
David Harris-Gershon - David Harris-Gershon – a blogger for Tikkun magazine and a freelance writer on Israel, the Middle East and America’s role in ...
Join the Conversation