Duke University Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Private nonprofit university
- Durham, NC
- About 111 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Duke University political science graduates earn more than graduates of most political science programs nationally, $54,970 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $14,016 in federal loans, less than at 95% of political science programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying political science degrees in North Carolina.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Duke University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $45,221 more than the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 85% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $149 a month, or 3.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Durham area are about 2% below the national average, so a $54,970 salary here buys what about $56,338 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to political science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$57,650Median pay in North Carolina. 28,620 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$63,710Median pay in North Carolina. 2,930 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Economists
$136,150Median pay in North Carolina. 290 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Political Scientists
$142,080Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Duke University
Political Science ranks 11th of 23 bachelor's programs at Duke University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($133,356), Mathematics ($121,088), and Computer Engineering ($111,145).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Durham
Common questions
The median graduate earns $54,970 one year after graduating and $101,627 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $32,780.
The median federal loan balance is $14,016, which ranks the lowest of 15 political science bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $149 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 25% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of North Carolina comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the political science program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024