College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Political Science and Government degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 496 colleges (496 of 496 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$33,135

Graduates only, early career.$34,298 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.64×

64% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Political Science and Government report early-career pay between $29,215 and $37,482 — a spread of $8,267 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $29,215 median $33,135 75th pct $37,482

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 496 colleges $33,135 $21,500 0.64×

Master's 13 colleges $47,403 $39,050 0.81×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Harvard University MA $58,808 —

Trinity College CT $57,856 $25,000 debt

Yale University CT $57,333 $14,749 debt

Dartmouth College NH $57,095 $17,500 debt

DePauw University IN $53,214 $27,000 debt

University of Maryland Global Campus MD $52,749 $19,910 debt

Santa Clara University CA $52,109 $20,500 debt

Columbia University in the City of New York NY $52,096 $21,500 debt

Johns Hopkins University MD $52,083 —

Bowdoin College ME $51,934 $19,634 debt

Cornell University NY $51,469 $14,400 debt

Amherst College MA $51,419 —

Georgetown University DC $51,297 $15,384 debt

Middlebury College VT $51,074 $18,297 debt

Bates College ME $50,568 $11,532 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Political Science and Government, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard