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Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at South Dakota State University

Brookings, SD · Public · Bachelor's Degree
60 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
59
Optimistic
60
Base Case
56
Pessimistic
Earnings $45,770/yr (-6% vs median)
AI Risk High (44% exposed)
Job Market Large (33,700 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $525K $446K $352K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 14.1x 12.0x 9.5x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 10.2x 8.7x 6.9x
Viable Career Paths 2 of 2 2 of 2 2 of 2
DegreeWorth Score 59 60 56

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$37,196
Out-of-state: $51,236
Median Debt at Graduation
$24,024
6.3 months of Year 1 earnings

Career Paths

Where Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 33,700 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Lawyers $151,160 31,500 +4.1% 43%
Law teachers, postsecondary $126,650 2,200 +2.2% 45%

Compare & Explore

Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at Other Schools

Drexel University ($59,077) James Madison University ($40,966)

Other Majors at South Dakota State University

Construction Engineering Technologies ($77,949) Computer and Information Sciences, General ($73,770) Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($71,758) Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions ($69,255) Civil Engineering ($69,129) Mechanical Engineering ($67,791) Plant Sciences ($58,787) Agricultural Business and Management ($51,222)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at South Dakota State University?
This program scores 60/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 59 (optimistic) to 56 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates retain 2 of 2 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $352,343 (pessimistic) to $524,701 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies graduates?
The career paths mapped to Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies have roughly 33,700 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at South Dakota State University worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 12.0x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 9.5x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.