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2024 Best Political Science & Government Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

85 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,292 Bachelor's Degrees
$33,078 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 reviewed 85 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of political science & government. Combined, these schools handed out 5,292 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 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.

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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Political Science

1
109 Annual Graduates
$48,082 Median Starting Salary
$18,500 Median Student Debt

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the country 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 large student population.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Chicago receive $15,004 more than the typical political science graduate.

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

2
117 Annual Graduates
$45,960 Median Starting Salary
$16,834 Median Student Debt

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

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University earn $12,882 more than the typical political science student.

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

3
186 Annual Graduates
$43,036 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

University of Notre Dame is one of the finest 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.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Notre Dame receive $9,958 more than the standard political science graduate.

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

4
399 Annual Graduates
$35,789 Median Starting Salary
$22,000 Median Student Debt

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the finest schools in the country 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.

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $2,711 more than the average political science student.

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

5
272 Annual Graduates
$40,625 Median Starting Salary
$18,862 Median Student Debt

U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

Political Science & Government bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive an earnings boost of about $7,547 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
248 Annual Graduates
$35,914 Median Starting Salary
$20,025 Median Student Debt

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

Those political science & government students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $2,836 more than the standard political science grad.

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

7
253 Annual Graduates
$33,926 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the political science program make about $33,926 in the first couple years of working.

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

8
108 Annual Graduates
$34,214 Median Starting Salary
$20,000 Median Student Debt

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

After graduation, political science bachelor's recipients usually earn around $34,214 at the beginning of their careers.

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

9
184 Annual Graduates
$39,311 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

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

Bachelor's recipients from the political science & government program at Miami University - Oxford make $6,233 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

10
26 Annual Graduates

Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland.More information about a bachelor’s in political science & government from Case Western Reserve University

11
127 Annual Graduates
$31,800 Median Starting Salary
$17,951 Median Student Debt

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the political science program earn around $31,800 in the first couple years of their career.

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

12
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
141 Annual Graduates
$32,000 Median Starting Salary
$22,576 Median Student Debt

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the political science program make an average of $32,000 for their early career.

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

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
13 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
14 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
15 Denison University Granville, OH
16 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
17 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
18 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
19 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
20 Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN
21 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH

Best Political Science & Government Colleges by State

Explore the best political science & government schools 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 5,238
Other Political Science & Government 36
Political Economy 10
American Government & Politics (United States) 8

Majors Similar to Political Science

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 5,721
Sociology 2,738
International Relations & National Security 1,086
Anthropology 955
Geography & Cartography 653
General Social Sciences 329
Other Social Sciences 167
Urban Studies 110
Sociology & Anthropology 87
Archeology 43

Notes and References

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