2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Political Science & Government (With Aid)
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Political Science & Government is the 21st most popular major in the country with 48,597 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, political science and government graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,977 and had an average of $22,822 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 43,385 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 757 colleges that offered a degree in political science and government. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great political science and government programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the political science and government program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Political Science & Government (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 159 degrees to qualified bachelors’s political science students in 2019-2020.
Yale not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $17,549 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid per year to attend Yale University.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low 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%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. UNC Chapel Hill is a public institution located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 339 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UNC Chapel Hill excels when it comes to political science quality. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $12,352 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Political Science & Government at UNC Chapel Hill
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hunter College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Hunter College is a public institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $2,490 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Hunter College.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 757 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Baruch College landed the #4 spot on the list. Baruch is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 81 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $3,562 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Baruch College.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school awarded 356 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s political science students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW Seattle is also in the top of our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for UW Seattle is $13,297 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full University of Washington - Seattle Campus Political Science & Government Report
University of Florida came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school awarded 362 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s political science students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UF is also in the top of our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $6,302 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid per year to attend UF.
The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at University of Florida
Harvard University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 102 bachelors’s political science degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Harvard, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $15,386 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Harvard University.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Harvard University
With a ranking of #8, John Jay College of Criminal Justice did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. John Jay is located in New York, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 112 bachelors’s political science degrees to qualified students.
The yearly cost to attend John Jay is $2,532 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
With a ranking of #9, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Cal State LA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 95 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $2,768 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Cal State LA.
The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 full report on Political Science & Government at California State University - Los Angeles
Queens College landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. QC is a fairly large school located in Queens, New York that handed out 118 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Queens College is $3,067 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.
The City College of New York did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. New York, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s political science degrees to 75 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for The City College of New York is $2,385 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #12. This large school is located in Edinburg, Texas, and it awarded 56 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for UT Rio Grande Valley is $4,514 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at UT Rio Grande Valley
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 259 bachelors’s political science degrees to qualified students.
UIUC excels when it comes to political science quality. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 full report on Political Science & Government at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lehman College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 34 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s political science students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $1,814 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Lehman College.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Lehman College
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #15. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 363 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also claimed a top spot on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Madison is $17,708 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #16, Texas A&M International University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized school located in Laredo, Texas that handed out 24 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $3,074 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid per year to attend Texas A&M International University.
Full Texas A&M International University Political Science & Government Report
Stanford University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 57 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $11,496 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Stanford University Political Science & Government Report
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 692 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UCLA also did well on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. It costs about $14,279 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend UCLA.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Political Science & Government at University of California - Los Angeles
Brooklyn College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Brooklyn, New York, and it awarded 56 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Brooklyn College is $2,683 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 320 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, U-M also did well on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $15,336 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid per year to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Princeton University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Princeton University is a medium-sized school located in Princeton, New Jersey that handed out 70 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
Princeton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #24 on our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Princeton is $11,317 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low 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%.
York College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #22. York is a medium-sized school located in Jamaica, New York that handed out 14 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for York is $3,433 for Bachelor’s Degree Political Science students with aid.
California State University - Fullerton ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 126 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Fullerton is $7,991 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at California State University - Fullerton
With a ranking of #24, Amherst College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Amherst, Massachusetts, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.
Amherst also made our “Best Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #25. It costs about $18,524 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid per year to attend Amherst.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Amherst College
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking. Odessa, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s political science degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UT Permian Basin is $10,092 for bachelor’s degree political science students with aid.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at UT Permian Basin
Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Political Science Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Williams College | Williamstown, MA |
| 52 | University of North Texas at Dallas | Dallas, TX |
| 53 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 54 | California State University - San Bernardino | San Bernardino, CA |
| 55 | Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA |
| 56 | Appalachian State University | Boone, NC |
| 57 | William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
| 58 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 59 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 60 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 61 | Truman State University | Kirksville, MO |
| 62 | Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, FL |
| 63 | University of Wisconsin - La Crosse | La Crosse, WI |
| 64 | University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 65 | College of Staten Island CUNY | Staten Island, NY |
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Political Science & Government (Income $75-$110k)
Political Science & Government students with family income $75-$110k
Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to UKWiki at English Wikipedia.
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