2024 Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Great Lakes Region
85Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,797Political Science Degrees Awarded
$33,195Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in political science & government, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #20 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 85 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for political science & government students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,797 degrees in political science & government to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Political Science & Government School
Your choice of political science & government school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Political Science & Government School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Political Science & Government Rankings by 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 in the Great Lakes Region.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
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Best Schools for Political Science & Government in the Great Lakes Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the political science degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
12 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Political Science
University of Chicago is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in political science & government. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were approximately 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 earn $14,887 more than the typical political science graduate.
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in political science & government. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 140 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the political science & government program at Northwestern University earn $12,765 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in political science & government. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were about 204 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of approximately $9,841 over the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in political science & government. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were approximately 447 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the political science & government degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $2,594 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 285 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn a boost of around $7,430 above the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 257 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the political science & government major at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $2,719 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 277 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the political science program make around $33,926 in the first couple years of their career.
Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were roughly 135 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, political science degree recipients usually earn an average of $34,214 in their early careers.
Miami University - Oxford is a large public university located in the town of Oxford. A Best Colleges rank of #116 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.
There were about 195 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford get an earnings boost of approximately $6,116 over the average income of political science & government graduates.
Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.
There were approximately 26 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 152 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, political science degree recipients usually make an average of $32,000 at the beginning of their careers.
IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 141 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the political science program make an average of $31,800 in their early career salary.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
Your choice of political science & government school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Political Science & Government School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
