by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Political Science & Government is the 20th most popular major in the country with 49,282 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, political science and government graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,387 and had an average of $23,175 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 5,797 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,195 and $24,420 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 241 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,892 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 41 colleges that offered a degree in political science and government. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in political science and government.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree political science students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hillsdale College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This small school is located in Hillsdale, Michigan, and it awarded 13 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Hillsdale College Political Science & Government Report
Out of the 41 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 27 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 25 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Eastern Illinois University Political Science & Government Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Governors State University is a public institution located in University Park, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 41 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northeastern Illinois University is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 6 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Northeastern Illinois University
Western Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 6 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #7, Marquette University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Marquette is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 masters’s political science degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Marquette University Political Science & Government Report
Miami University - Oxford landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public school situated in Oxford, Ohio. It awarded 11 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Miami University - Oxford
With a ranking of #9, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 12 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at UChicago
University of Notre Dame came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 masters’s political science degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Illinois State University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Normal, Illinois, and it awarded 8 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Illinois State University Political Science & Government Report
Northwestern University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #13, University of Akron Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Akron Main Campus is located in Akron, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s political science degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Akron Main Campus
Northern Illinois University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 5 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Northern Illinois University
With a ranking of #15, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a public institution located in Athens, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Ohio University - Athens Campus
Western Michigan University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. WMU is a fairly large school located in Kalamazoo, Michigan that handed out 5 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 15 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Political Science & Government Report
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 14 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, this large public school awarded 10 degrees to qualified masters’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Purdue University - Main Campus Political Science & Government Report
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s political science degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Wayne State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #21. Detroit, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s political science degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Wayne State
Ball State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Ball State University
Kent State University at Kent landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s political science degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Kent State University at Kent
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s political science degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Political Science Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #25. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 3 masters’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Indiana University - Bloomington Political Science & Government Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
