2025 Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Great Lakes Region
84Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,684Political Science Degrees Awarded
$37,575Avg 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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 84 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,684 degrees in political science & government annually.
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.
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.
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.
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 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
16 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Political Science
University of Chicago is a wonderful 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 fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 131 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of approximately $18,447 above the average earnings of political science & government majors.
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 city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 125 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Northwestern University receive $17,162 more than the standard political science graduate.
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.
University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in political science & government. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were approximately 190 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 make $17,741 more than the standard political science student.
University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in political science & government. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 391 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Political Science & Government degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of around $4,488 over the average earnings of political science & government majors.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were roughly 254 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $2,127 more than the standard political science grad.
Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 266 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the political science program make around $35,172 in their early career salary.
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 289 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the political science program state that they receive average early career earnings of $35,977.
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 139 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, political science degree recipients generally earn an average of $39,514 in their early careers.
IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 108 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the political science program earn around $32,568 in their early career salary.
Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were roughly 133 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus earn a boost of about $2,133 above the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford. This university ranks 5th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 184 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available. Those political science & government students who get their degree from Miami University - Oxford earn $8,853 more than the average political science student.
Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #114 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Marquette is a great university overall.
There were approximately 103 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Marquette in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, political science degree recipients usually earn around $38,225 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were approximately 169 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the political science program make about $37,007 for their early career.
UC is a very large public university located in the city of Cincinnati. This university ranks 6th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 91 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the political science program report average early career wages of $37,360.
NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 20th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 74 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, political science degree recipients typically make an average of $32,225 in the first five years of their career.
Xavier is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cincinnati. This university ranks 10th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 59 political science & government students who graduated with this degree at Xavier in the most recent data year. Political Science & Government degree recipients from Xavier University get an earnings boost of around $4,135 over the typical earnings of political science & government graduates.
Rest of the Top Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
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).
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.
