Washington University in St Louis Master of Legal Studies in Taxation (Online) in 2027

The Master of Legal Studies in Taxation from Washington University in St Louis gives accountants, finance staff and compliance professionals a law-school education in tax without requiring a law degree. You study online, in small classes, with a blend of residential law faculty and practicing tax lawyers.

This 24-credit program comes from Washington University in St Louis School of Law, a private nonprofit university in Missouri. It's built for professionals who don't hold a Juris Doctor (JD), and the school says you don't need a law degree or legal background to apply.

The school describes the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) in Taxation as a law school-based degree that emphasizes the legal side of taxation, so you learn how U.S. tax law is read and argued. The program was designed by a blend of the law school's residential faculty and expert tax law practitioners.

Classes are intentionally small, so every participant is part of the conversation, and instruction is grounded in the Socratic method, where the instructor draws out your reasoning with questions. Its online format works around a job, and you can add an optional externship or a supervised research paper if you want to go deeper.

WashU says the degree equips you to take on more advanced responsibilities in tax strategy, compliance and regulatory analysis and to contribute to tax-related decision-making inside your organization. It also says graduates are prepared to assist individual taxpayers and organizations across a range of tax-related functions, including accounting, government and corporate taxation.

A Lightcast analysis of job postings cited by the school puts the median advertised salary for people who hold a degree related to tax law at $143,000 a year. The faculty list includes the Associate Dean for Clinical Education, who directs the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic and the Tax Master of Laws (LLM) program.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Accountants and tax analysts who want the legal side: the school lists accountants, tax analysts and tax consultants among the professionals the degree serves, and electives like Federal Tax Procedure and Corporate Taxation work through the statutes, regulations and case law behind your daily work.
• Compliance and finance professionals: the school says the program fits people who assist individual taxpayers and organizations with accounting, government and corporate taxation.
• Financial advisers, finance managers and compliance officers: the school names them too, and the program is designed for professionals who don't hold a JD, starting from Introduction to U.S. Law.
• Readers who like discussion: the Socratic method and small classes reward people who want to talk through hard statutes.
• Those who want a writing sample or field experience: the 30-page supervised research paper and the externship give you work to show.

The nine-credit core shared by every MLS student is two courses of 4.5 credits each. Introduction to U.S. Law covers distinctive aspects of the American legal system, and Legal Writing has you research legal questions, build a predictive analysis, negotiate a settlement and critique another writer's work.

Next comes the three-credit taxation requirement, Federal Income Taxation, which surveys the taxation of individual taxpayers, including the nature of income, deductions, credits and property, with an emphasis on tax policy and statutory interpretation. The remaining 12 credits are electives, and the menu is wide.

You can take Corporate Taxation on formation, distributions, redemptions and liquidations, Federal Taxation of Partnerships, State and Local Taxation, Federal Tax Procedure on Internal Revenue Service organization, Tax Court litigation and civil penalties, Federal Income Taxation of Estates, Trusts, and Gifts, Tax-Exempt Organizations, International Taxation, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary law that governs qualified retirement and welfare benefit plans.

Tax Research and Writing sharpens how you present authority. For a capstone, you can choose a three-credit supervised research paper of at least 30 pages, or a three-credit legal externship with weekly meetings with a faculty member.

Standout Features

• Optional externship and supervised research
• Optional on-campus immersion experiences

The school says you can finish the 24-credit program in 12 to 18 months, depending on whether you study full time or part time. The work follows a rhythm: you move through asynchronous coursework when it fits your schedule, then attend live weekly sessions.

Your plan has three layers: the 9-credit core of Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Writing, the 3-credit Federal Income Taxation requirement, and 12 credits of electives. The optional externship and the supervised research paper are each three credits. The next start date listed is January 25, 2027, with an application deadline of January 4, 2027.

Tuition is $2,375 per credit. That's $57,000 for all 24 credits, plus an estimated $1,500 for books and supplies. The same tuition and fee rates apply to all of WashU Law's online graduate law programs. Students whose employers are part of the AllCampus Workplace Network may receive a 10% tuition discount, WashU employees are eligible for a 50% discount, and merit-based and need-based scholarships are available.

You can spread costs into up to five monthly installments per academic period. The Yellow Ribbon benefit is for students who receive the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). It's open to those at the 100% benefit rate.

24 credits at $2,375 a credit comes to $57,000 in tuition, before fees.

The program is delivered fully online with a mix of asynchronous and synchronous work. You move through coursework on your own time, then join live weekly sessions where small groups discuss the material. A July 2026 press release carried by a local newspaper described WashU Law's online programs as combining academic rigor with flexibility, so you can complete coursework on your own schedule while learning from scholars and industry professionals.

You can also join optional on-campus immersion experiences. Career Center advisers hold one-on-one counseling sessions, and you can join WashU's global alumni network to meet practitioners.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

A July 2026 press release on the AllCampus partnership called the Master of Legal Studies in Taxation a specialized program for professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of tax law, compliance and evolving regulations without pursuing a JD.

The same release quoted a partner describing WashU Law as one of the top law schools in the country that is also committed to expanding access to high quality, flexible online programs. The law school itself says it regularly receives top-50 and top-20 rankings, along with specialized rankings in international law, tax law and best-value education.

• If I start on January 25, 2027, which electives can I take first, and in what order do they fit around my job?
• How many hours a week should I plan for the asynchronous work plus the live weekly session?
• Would the supervised research paper or the externship suit my career goals better?
• Does my employer belong to the AllCampus Workplace Network, and can I apply the tuition discount?
• What do the optional on-campus immersion experiences involve, and when are they offered?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 43 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 21 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 20 of 40, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 18 of 33, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 23 of 43, master's
• Internship or Practicum Rank 16 of 24, master's

• LL.M. in Taxation (In Person)

  LL.M., Master's

  On Campus Score 55.1

• LL.M. in Taxation (Online)

  LL.M., Master's

  Fully Online $2,375 per credit Score 53.9

• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

  Master of Science in Accountancy with a Specialization in Taxation

  Illinois $556.75 per credit Score 52.0

• Wayne State University

  LL.M. in Taxation

  Michigan $1,477.90 per credit Score 51.9

• Loyola Marymount University

  Online Master of Laws (Tax LLM)

  California $2,400 per credit Score 51.5

• Arizona State University

  Taxation and Data Analytics

  Arizona Score 51.2