College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

84 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,015 Bachelor's Degrees
$35,668 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #12 in popularity, political science & government is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 84 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 5,015 bachelor's degrees in political science & government to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Political Science & Government School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of political science & government for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality political science program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for political science & government students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Political Science Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Political Science & Government in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science & government. 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 for a Bachelor's in Political Science

1

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in political science & government. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Chicago earn $20,354 more than the typical political science student.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Chicago

2
175 Annual Graduates
$55,316 Median Starting Salary
$35,318 Median Student Debt

University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's 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.

Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government degree program at University of Notre Dame earn $19,648 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Notre Dame

3

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in political science & government needs to take a look at Northwestern University. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University earn $19,069 more than the typical political science graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Northwestern University

4
384 Annual Graduates
$42,063 Median Starting Salary
$31,475 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in political science & government. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government program at University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $6,395 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Wisconsin - Madison

5
247 Annual Graduates
$39,702 Median Starting Salary
$55,834 Median Student Debt

U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn a boost of approximately $4,034 above the typical earnings of political science & government majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
252 Annual Graduates
$35,172 Median Starting Salary
$29,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the political science program earn about $35,172 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7
265 Annual Graduates
$35,977 Median Starting Salary
$26,355 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus.

After graduating, political science bachelor's recipients generally earn around $35,977 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
126 Annual Graduates
$39,514 Median Starting Salary
$51,904 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Michigan State University make $3,846 more than the typical political science grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Michigan State University

9

IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the political science program make an average of $32,568 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Indiana University - Bloomington

10
113 Annual Graduates
$39,708 Median Starting Salary
$37,593 Median Student Debt

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus earn $4,040 more than the average political science student.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Purdue University - Main Campus

11
160 Annual Graduates
$46,428 Median Starting Salary
$47,328 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford.

Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford receive an earnings boost of approximately $10,760 over the typical earnings of political science & government majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Miami University - Oxford

12
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
96 Annual Graduates
$38,225 Median Starting Salary
$45,014 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Marquette University make $2,557 more than the average political science student.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Marquette University

13
147 Annual Graduates
$37,007 Median Starting Salary
$59,599 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the political science program report average early career wages of $37,007.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Loyola University Chicago

14
73 Annual Graduates
$37,360 Median Starting Salary
$38,626 Median Student Debt

UC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the political science program state that they receive average early career wages of $37,360.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

15
63 Annual Graduates
$32,225 Median Starting Salary
$32,968 Median Student Debt

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the political science program report average early career income of $32,225.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Northern Illinois University

16
Xavier crest
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH
58 Annual Graduates
$41,710 Median Starting Salary
$51,171 Median Student Debt

Xavier is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cincinnati.

Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Xavier University receive an earnings boost of around $6,042 over the typical earnings of political science & government graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Xavier University

Rest of the Top Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree 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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
18 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
19 DePaul University Chicago, IL
20 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
21 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
22 Illinois State University Normal, IL
23 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
24 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
25 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
26 Denison University Granville, OH
27 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
28 DePauw University Greencastle, IN

Best Political Science & Government Colleges by State

Explore the best political science & government colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 984
Ohio 252 1,359
Illinois 241 1,314
Indiana 235 750
Wisconsin 213 885

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Political Science & Government has other similar majors worth exploring.

Political Science Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science 4,952
Other Political Science & Government 44
Political Economy 10
American Government & Politics (United States) 9

Majors Similar to Political Science

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 5,259
Sociology 2,344
Anthropology 971
International Relations & National Security 810
Geography & Cartography 487
General Social Sciences 420
Sociology & Anthropology 93
Other Social Sciences 93
Urban Studies 78
Archeology 66

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options