2024 Best Political Science & Government Schools
607
Colleges in the United States
49,282
Political Science Degrees Awarded
$34,387
Avg Early-Career Salary
Political Science & Government is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #20 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 607 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Political Science & Government Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 49,282 degrees in political science & government during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Political Science & Government School
The political science program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Political Science & Government rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for political science & government schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your Political Science & Government Degree Level
The political science school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Political Science & Government Schools.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
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Featured Political Science & Government Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
BA in Political Science
Gain a solid understanding of American political history, the current political landscape, and the major political parties with this online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
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Best Schools for Political Science & Government in the United States
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the political science degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in Political Science
Yale University is a good option for students interested in a degree in political science & government. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.
There were approximately 141 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Yale University make $22,946 more than the typical political science graduate.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Yale University
Any student who is interested in political science & government has to check out Harvard University. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were approximately 157 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Harvard University receive $24,421 more than the average political science student.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Harvard University
University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in political science & government. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 154 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania earn a boost of about $15,542 over the typical income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a degree in political science & government from University of Pennsylvania
Any student pursuing a degree in political science & government needs to check out Georgetown University. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were about 306 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Georgetown University earn $20,743 more than the typical political science student.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Georgetown University
UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 139 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from University of Chicago make $13,695 more than the typical political science grad.
More information about a degree in political science & government from University of Chicago
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 296 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the political science & government major at Columbia University in the City of New York earn $17,709 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 36 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were roughly 156 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University earn a boost of approximately $32,988 over the average earnings of political science & government majors.
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Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 136 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Duke University earn a boost of around $8,743 over the average earnings of political science & government majors.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Duke University
Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were about 86 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Stanford University receive $12,020 more than the average political science grad.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Stanford University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
13th
Most Popular In TX
59
Political Science Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 1st out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 59 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Rice University
Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 140 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of about $11,573 above the typical earnings of political science & government graduates.
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Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. This university ranks 1st out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 204 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Those political science & government students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame earn $8,649 more than the typical political science grad.
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Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 1st out of 17 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Hampshire.
There were roughly 168 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the political science & government degree program at Dartmouth College make $22,708 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
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Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were roughly 98 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Vanderbilt University earn a boost of around $9,540 above the typical income of political science & government graduates.
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Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 166 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the political science & government degree program at Cornell University earn $17,082 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
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WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis. This university ranks 1st out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 94 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Washington University in St Louis receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,522 above the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
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Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 537 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of around $6,139 above the typical earnings of political science & government graduates.
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Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 150 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from University of Southern California make $6,656 more than the typical political science student.
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UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 5th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 713 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the political science program report average early career income of $35,138.
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Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.
There were approximately 108 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Princeton University receive an earnings boost of around $3,444 above the typical earnings of political science & government graduates.
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Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence. This university ranks 1st out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were roughly 95 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the political science & government program at Brown University earn $15,799 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
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Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
49th
Most Popular In CA
38
Political Science Degrees Awarded
Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Claremont McKenna is a great college overall.
There were approximately 38 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Claremont McKenna in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in political science & government from Claremont McKenna College
NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. This university ranks 4th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were roughly 244 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the political science & government major at New York University make $14,101 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
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Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were roughly 506 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Those political science & government students who get their degree from George Washington University earn $23,493 more than the average political science graduate.
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UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were roughly 447 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the political science program state that they receive average early career income of $35,789.
More information about a degree in political science & government from University of Wisconsin - Madison