Advance your career
and leadership potential
on your own time.
Become a trusted expert on the critical nuances of compliance and risk management through a flexible online degree program.
Compliance with a Conscience:
Master of Legal Studies in Compliance and Risk Management
Grounded in tradition and located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic and diverse business hubs, Seattle University School of Law offers a valuable degree for individuals looking to advance in their careers. In an increasingly regulated global environment, businesses need in-house trusted experts, not only to comply but to thrive and to manage and assess risks and opportunities. Training in legal methods, analysis, and communication will prepare graduates to perform these tasks and assume leadership roles within organizations.
Our fully online program prepares you to lead compliance efforts in any organization, regardless of industry. You graduate with a commanding knowledge of law, legal analysis, and the frameworks used to identify, assess, and respond to risk. You learn the laws and regulations related to data and cybersecurity, healthcare, finance, and corporate compliance and risk, because understanding these regulations and how they impact organizations is critical to working effectively as a compliance officer.
Depending on your professional goals and interests, you can optionally choose to focus on one of the following concentrations:
The program begins with a series of foundational courses in legal institutions, methods, and communication, including research and writing. As a student, you will move next into the core aspects of compliance operations, e.g., investigation, auditing, and report writing, and then have the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge in one or more of the industries featured in the program (healthcare, finance, data, and cybersecurity).
Throughout the MLS program you will have the opportunity to learn from a faculty composed of experienced legal educators and adjunct faculty drawn from Seattle’s leading businesses.
At the end of this degree program, graduates should be able to:
- Interpret cases, statutes, and regulations related to the law and policy of compliance and risk management across myriad industries.
- Analyze the role of the U.S. legal system, especially administrative bodies, in relation to business or industry compliance and risk.
- Examine compliance and risk through a legal lens, to include legal analysis, research, and written and verbal communication.
- Demonstrate an ability to perform critical non-attorney roles ethically and with cultural competency regardless of industry or business environment.
To be eligible for admission to the MLS program, candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree.
The following items must be sent to the law school directly from the appropriate institutions:
- Official transcripts from all academic institutions where you have studied. A certified translation must be attached if the transcript is not in English.
- If English is not your first language, official TOEFL score report must be sent directly from ETS. TOEFL is waived for students whose first language is English, who attended an educational institution in which English was the primary language of instruction, or who have worked in an English-speaking environment for one year or more.
Our MLS program is built with both asynchronous and synchronous components.
- Asynchronous consists of readings, pre-recorded lectures, discussion threads, quizzes, written assessments, and other activities. Asynchronous components allow you to complete these components at your convenience.
- Synchronous components are online, live classes where you engage with faculty and students real-time and have the opportunity to get to know faculty and other students in the program. Each course consists of 4 to 6 live classes per term (with the possibility for a slight variance in each class). These live sessions are also recorded, allowing you to “attend” the session at a later date if needed.
Master of Legal Studies in Compliance and Risk Management
- Part-time and fully online
- Fall and Spring term starts
- 3 terms per year
- 14-week terms
- Complete within 2 years