Editorial selection · unranked · reviewed 1 November 2026
Best Online Law Programs
This is an unranked selection of online or low-residency law degrees and academic awards, drawn from the programs in our directory. Each entry notes where study is fully remote, where in-person residencies or exams apply, and who may enrol. Use it as a starting point and check professional eligibility with the regulator in the jurisdiction where you plan to work.
Unranked editorial selection, not an exhaustive league table; no school paid to be included. How this was chosen · Full methodology
Andorra
The Universitat d'Andorra offers a 180-ECTS, six-semester bachelor in law in virtual mode in collaboration with the UOC, taught in Catalan with September and February starts. The university states the degree is evaluated and accredited by Andorra's quality agency AQUA and leads to a state qualification issued by the Government of Andorra. The page does not describe how assessment is conducted, and recognition for practice outside Andorra must be confirmed with the relevant regulator.
Catalan-language bachelorAQUA-accredited (school-stated)Virtual, with UOCFully online · 6 semestres · Catalan
Australia
University of New England
Online · provider based in Australia
LLB / first law degree: Bachelor of Laws (3 Years)
UNE's three-year Bachelor of Laws is aimed at people who already hold a bachelor degree in any field, runs over 24 units (144 credit points) and can be spread over up to ten years part-time. The page states there are no mandatory intensive schools for this version, which removes a common travel requirement of distance law degrees. It does not describe how exams are held or what admission to practice requires, so both need confirming with UNE and the relevant admitting authority.
Graduate-entry LLBNo mandatory intensivesFlexible part-time up to 10 yearsFully online · 3 years full-time; up to 10 years part-time; 24 units (144 credit points) · English
Flinders University
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
JD / professional law degree: Juris Doctor (Online)
Flinders delivers its Juris Doctor online for graduates from any non-law discipline, over three years full-time equivalent. The university states that the degree meets the academic requirements for admission to legal practice across Australian jurisdictions and in Singapore, which is a stated academic-requirements claim and not an admission to practice. The course is not available to international students, so it suits Australian residents only.
Online Juris DoctorNon-law graduate entryDomestic students onlyFully online · 3 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) · English
France
Assas offers a three-year digital licence en droit for school leavers, taught entirely by distance on a dedicated platform, with a tutorial instructor (charge de TD) in each subject and continuous online assessment. The key caveat is that the end-of-term partiels are held in person at the Assas centre in Paris over three to four days, so it is not usable by someone who cannot travel to Paris. The course is in French and enrolled students cannot switch to the classroom track.
French-language licenceTutor per subjectIn-person exams in ParisFully online · 3 ans · French
United Kingdom
Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
LLM / Master of Laws: Law (Online Learning) LLM
The Edinburgh Law School runs this LLM entirely online, with no campus attendance, and assesses it through essays, projects and discussion contributions rather than formal examinations. Students choose courses across commercial law, medical law and ethics, and IP, media and technology law, and finish with a 10,000-word dissertation, with a named student adviser as first point of contact. The page says the online degree is academically equivalent to the on-campus one; it does not say the LLM qualifies anyone to practise.
Fully onlineCommercial / IP / medical law optionsCoursework assessmentDissertationFully online · Part-time LLM, up to 32 months; full-time LLM, 1 year · English
The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London
London, England, United Kingdom
LLM / Master of Laws: LLM Digital Law Online (Part-Time)
A two-year, part-time LLM in Digital Law delivered 100% online, with core modules on information privacy and data protection, the law and regulation of cryptoassets, and a Legal Generative AI project. Assessment combines written coursework, research essays and practical projects with formative feedback from tutors. The standard route asks for a 2:1 in law, with a separate route for non-law graduates who have at least three years of professional legal experience.
Digital / data / AI lawFully onlinePractical projectsPart-time 2 yearsFully online · 2 years, part time · English
Queen Mary University of London
Online · provider based in United Kingdom
LLM / Master of Laws: Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Online LLM
Queen Mary's online LLM in technology, media and telecommunications law is taught through a web-based learning environment and assessed by coursework (tasks at 30% plus a final essay or assessment exercise at 70%), then a 10,000 or 20,000-word dissertation. A residential weekend exists but attendance is optional and travel costs are the student's own, so the degree can be completed without visiting the UK. Entry is typically a 2:1 in law or a degree with substantial law content.
Technology / media / telecoms lawOptional residentialCoursework assessmentDissertationFully online · can be completed in one to two years depending on other commitments (study options list 2 years or 4 years part-time) · English
University of Liverpool
Online · provider based in United Kingdom
LLM / Master of Laws: International Business Law LLM (Online)
This online LLM covers international business law, trade law, EU trade law, conflict of laws and competition law, with electives such as corporate governance, banking, IP and international financial crime, and ends with a 60-credit dissertation. All assessment is coursework with no exams, which matters for students who cannot sit invigilated papers locally. PG Diploma and PG Certificate exit awards are offered, and admission considers professional experience case by case.
International business lawCoursework only, no examsExit awards (PGDip / PGCert)DissertationFully online · approximately 24 months for LLM (part-time and online) · English
The Open University
Online · provider based in United Kingdom
LLB / first law degree: Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (LLB)
The Open University Law School offers a supported distance-learning LLB (Honours) and a graduate-entry version for people who already hold a degree in any subject. The page links the degree to the Foundations of Legal Knowledge for the Bar of England and Wales and to the SQE1 route, but that is the school's own statement of how the study can be tailored. How examinations are held is not stated on the page, and professional eligibility must be confirmed with the relevant regulator.
Distance-learning LLBGraduate-entry routeOpen entry modelFully online · English
United States
Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, New York, United States
JD / professional law degree: JDinteractive (JDi) Hybrid Online J.D.
JDinteractive is Syracuse's ABA-accredited hybrid online J.D., taught by the same faculty as the on-campus degree with a mix of live and self-paced sessions, usually over four years. It requires six in-person residencies, so it is low-residency rather than fully remote. Students can join the law review and clinics online, take an externship, and add a fully online J.D./MBA or a national security certificate; bar admission rules vary by state and must be checked.
ABA-accredited hybrid J.D.Six residenciesExternshipsJ.D./MBA optionOnline with required campus attendance · Most students complete the degree in four years. · English
University of Dayton School of Law
Dayton, Ohio, United States
JD / professional law degree: Online Hybrid Juris Doctor
Dayton's Online Hybrid J.D. combines weekly live online classes and recorded material with four on-campus Get REAL intensives covering orientation, experiential learning and bar preparation. The school says the program is ABA-approved and prepares graduates to sit the bar exam in most states, which students should verify for their own state. Online students may join mock trial, moot court and law review.
ABA-approved online hybrid J.D.Four campus intensivesMoot court / mock trialOnline with required campus attendance · takes less than four years to complete (44 months) · English
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
JD / professional law degree: Juris Doctor (Blended Learning enrollment option)
Mitchell Hamline says it was the first ABA-approved law school to offer a J.D. through a blend of online and on-campus instruction, starting in January 2015. The current single enrolment option is a four-year program that can finish in three, with a Prep Week at the start and Capstone Weeks at the end of each of the first four semesters, then a free choice of blended, on-campus, remote synchronous and fully online courses. The longest track record of the US blended J.D. programs checked here.
Blended J.D.Capstone Weeks on campusEarly ABA-approved online formatOnline with required campus attendance · It is a four-year program that can be finished in three years. · English
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
JD / professional law degree: Juris Doctor (JD) Online (part-time)
ASU's part-time online J.D. is 88 credit hours over three and a half to four years, mostly asynchronous but with required blocks of synchronous learning announced two months before each semester. It is notable for stating that there are no visitation requirements during enrolment, unlike the residency-based hybrid J.D.s. The college calls itself ABA-accredited; that the online format itself is covered, and what each state requires for bar eligibility, should be confirmed.
Online J.D., no campus visitsPart-time 3.5-4 yearsSynchronous blocksFully online · designed to be completed within three and a half to four years · English
Cornell Law School
Ithaca, New York, United States
Legal studies master’s: M.S.L.S. (Master of Science in Legal Studies, online)
Cornell's online Master of Studies in Law is a 20-month, part-time degree for non-lawyers, taught in small cohort classes by full-time law faculty with no campus visits required; Ithaca summer conferences are optional. It needs no LSAT, GRE or GMAT. It is a law-literacy degree for professionals in regulated fields and does not prepare anyone to practise law.
Master of Studies in LawFor non-lawyersNo campus visitsNo entrance testFully online · 20 months · English
How this was chosen
We assessed the specific online offering: delivery mode, residency or in-person exam requirements, assessment method, student support, institutional or program recognition as stated by the school or a regulator register, and enrolment eligibility. Evidence comes from official program pages fetched on the review date, with verbatim quotes. The selection is unranked, covers only programs researched so far, and research is partial.
Criteria
- Clear statement of delivery mode and any residency or in-person exam requirement
- Assessment method and student support described on the official page
- Institutional or program recognition stated by the school or a regulator register
- Enrolment eligibility and who the degree is designed for
- Degrees and academic awards only; short courses and exam-prep products excluded
- Remote teaching is not treated as professional recognition
Limitations
No ranking publication was used, so no ranking references are shown. Several candidates were not selected because their pages could not be read or did not state delivery, assessment or recognition (for example the UWI Mona, UNISA and Nigerian NOUN records), and tutoring quality, outcomes and bar passage were not assessed. Whether an online degree is accepted for professional admission differs by jurisdiction and must be confirmed with the relevant regulator, and many online J.D. programs state state-by-state bar limits.
Sponsorship never buys inclusion in, or the order of, an editorial selection. Methodology · Sponsorship disclosure
Sources (14)
- Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh
- The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London
- Queen Mary University of London
- University of Liverpool
- The Open University
- University of New England
- Flinders University
- Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas
- Universitat d'Andorra
- Syracuse University College of Law
- University of Dayton School of Law
- Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
- Cornell Law School