by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 595 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for political science & government students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 43,812 bachelor's degrees in political science & government during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
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.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for political science & government students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
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.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science & government. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat Yale University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science & government. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale 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 Yale University receive $23,448 more than the typical political science grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Yale University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in political science & government has to check out Harvard University. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government program at Harvard University get $24,923 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Harvard University
University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in political science & government. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn 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 Pennsylvania earn $16,044 more than the typical political science grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Pennsylvania
Georgetown University 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 Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government degree program at Georgetown University get $17,412 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Georgetown University
Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from University of Chicago receive an earnings boost of around $14,197 over the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Chicago
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York earn a boost of around $18,211 over the typical income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Columbia University in the City of New York
Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government major at Stanford University get $12,522 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Stanford University
Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Houston.More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Rice University
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Northwestern University receive an earnings boost of about $12,075 over the average income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Northwestern University
Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government program at Duke University get $9,245 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Duke University
Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Notre Dame make $9,151 more than the typical political science grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Notre Dame
Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the town of Hanover.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Dartmouth College earn a boost of around $23,210 above the average income of political science & government majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Dartmouth College
Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Vanderbilt University earn a boost of about $10,042 above the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Vanderbilt University
Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Cornell University receive an earnings boost of about $17,584 over the typical earnings of political science & government majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Cornell University
Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Washington University in St Louis get an earnings boost of around $12,024 over the typical income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Washington University in St Louis
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of about $6,641 over the average income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of California - Berkeley
Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduation, political science bachelor's recipients usually earn about $35,138 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of California - Los Angeles
USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $7,158 more than the average political science grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Southern California
Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University receive an earnings boost of about $18,198 over the average income of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Johns Hopkins University
Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government major at New York University make $14,603 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from New York University
Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from Brown University earn a boost of around $16,301 above the average earnings of political science & government graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Brown University
Located in the large suburb of Claremont, Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Claremont McKenna College
Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Princeton.
Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Princeton University make $3,946 more than the standard political science graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Princeton University
GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from George Washington University get an earnings boost of around $10,191 over the average income of political science & government majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from George Washington University
University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government program at University of Virginia - Main Campus make $11,244 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from University of Virginia - Main Campus
This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 595 different United States political science & government schools we analyzed.
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 award.
View the Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Political Science & Government has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science | 42,513 |
| Other Political Science & Government | 833 |
| Political Economy | 326 |
| American Government & Politics (United States) | 140 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Economics | 39,397 |
| Sociology | 29,576 |
| International Relations & National Security | 9,158 |
| Anthropology | 8,890 |
| General Social Sciences | 6,378 |
| Geography & Cartography | 4,409 |
| Other Social Sciences | 1,669 |
| Urban Studies | 1,051 |
| Sociology & Anthropology | 541 |
| Archeology | 201 |
