Political Science and Government at Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA · Bachelor's Degree · about 158 graduates a year

$46,764
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$86,537
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$63,293
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#28 of 565
Rank by pay
#59 of 565
Rank, wage-adjusted
$18,000
Median federal debt

Boston College graduates in political science and government earn 37% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 21% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Boston College Compares for Political Science and Government

All 565 colleges reporting political science and government earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD$121,729$106,831#2—
2Dartmouth College Hanover, NH$106,153$97,778#5$72,618
3Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN$102,789$112,286#1$46,843
4Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$100,245$95,412#11$61,077
5Colby College Waterville, ME$96,621$102,683#3$54,353
6Harvard University Cambridge, MA$95,838$84,395#27$61,543
7Cornell University Ithaca, NY$95,391$90,792#17$60,292
8Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA$95,190$86,679#20—
9University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN$94,297$101,163#4$55,316
10Trinity College Hartford, CT$94,097$84,717#25$42,979
…
25Lafayette College Easton, PA$87,904$89,399#18$48,112
26University of Chicago Chicago, IL$87,869$86,331#21$56,022
27Rice University Houston, TX$87,804$89,271#19$54,728
28Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA$86,537$76,205#59$46,764
29Wake Forest University Winston-salem, NC$85,668$91,934#15$47,161
30Brown University Providence, RI$85,388$84,098#28$54,634
31Fairfield University Fairfield, CT$83,709$75,365#66$38,426

Other Majors at Boston College by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Finance and Financial Management Services$147,746$82,495#5 of 452
Computer Science$143,204$86,749#38 of 349
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations$132,903$74,446#1 of 67
Information Science/Studies$131,090$80,731#2 of 148
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$126,475$80,046#6 of 126
Accounting and Related Services$126,461$75,512#4 of 796
Business Administration, Management and Operations$123,144$71,675#9 of 1176
Economics$121,337$72,099#30 of 368
Mathematics$111,072$74,144#16 of 309
Marketing$106,353$66,227#3 of 516
Philosophy$97,519$47,345#3 of 86
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$94,867$78,934#210 of 966
International/Globalization Studies$91,874$51,371#1 of 87
Biology$83,614$38,592#13 of 841
Communication and Media Studies$83,586$55,162#5 of 660
Natural Resources Conservation and Research$82,861$49,111#1 of 265
History$80,073$41,341#11 of 459
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology$76,328$42,384#3 of 59
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$75,274$42,474#25 of 110
English Language and Literature$70,141$41,878#11 of 576
Sociology$70,121$48,091#14 of 462
Psychology$70,033$44,760#26 of 1027
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$61,719$43,262#19 of 680

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Boston College political science and government graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $46,764 one year after graduating and $86,537 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Boston College rank for political science and government?

Among 565 colleges reporting earnings for political science and government graduates, Boston College ranks #28 by median pay four years after graduation, and #59 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is political science and government at Boston College worth it?

Its graduates earn 37% more than the national median for political science and government ($63,293), and the median federal debt at graduation is $18,000.

← All data for Boston College · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.