Political Science and Government at Cornell University

Ithaca, NY · Bachelor's Degree · about 116 graduates a year

$60,292
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$95,391
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$63,293
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#7 of 565
Rank by pay
#17 of 565
Rank, wage-adjusted
$14,400
Median federal debt

Cornell University graduates in political science and government earn 51% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 15% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Cornell University 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

Other Majors at Cornell University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Science$223,309$152,656#3 of 349
Operations Research$151,709$96,377—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$147,241$100,516#4 of 258
Agricultural Business and Management$145,218$92,163#1 of 77
Computer and Information Sciences$144,389$103,650#18 of 459
Economics$137,935$84,967#12 of 368
Mathematics$134,455$87,251#7 of 309
Engineering$128,207—#2 of 57
Public Policy Analysis$126,767$77,906#1 of 34
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology$124,242$78,358—
Physics$118,649$50,933#2 of 107
Chemical Engineering$116,165$85,578#4 of 158
Human Resources Management and Services$112,713$73,436#1 of 187
Hospitality Administration/Management$112,289$77,803#1 of 137
Mechanical Engineering$112,212$85,440#9 of 318
Statistics$111,090$82,531#8 of 50
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering$103,016$69,558#1 of 46
Agricultural Engineering$99,600$54,435#1 of 26
Area Studies$96,976$43,831#1 of 70
Apparel and Textiles$94,967—#1 of 57
Civil Engineering$91,242$80,261#47 of 233
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$89,275$33,419#4 of 225
Communication and Media Studies$88,463$62,182#3 of 660
Biological and Biomedical Sciences$85,883$38,841#3 of 17
Food Science and Technology$84,147$64,062#2 of 29
History$82,031$44,706#9 of 459
Chemistry$79,311$28,372#22 of 209
Psychology$78,049$36,630#6 of 1027
Sociology$73,200$36,709#9 of 462
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services$73,066$38,401#1 of 172

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Cornell University political science and government graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $60,292 one year after graduating and $95,391 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Cornell University rank for political science and government?

Among 565 colleges reporting earnings for political science and government graduates, Cornell University ranks #7 by median pay four years after graduation, and #17 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is political science and government at Cornell University worth it?

Its graduates earn 51% more than the national median for political science and government ($63,293), and the median federal debt at graduation is $14,400.

← All data for Cornell University · 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.