Eastern Kentucky University Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Public university
- Richmond, KY
- About 30 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Eastern Kentucky University political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $35,899 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,498 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,500. It is one of the higher-paying political science degrees in Kentucky.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Eastern Kentucky University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,583 less than the Kentucky median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky 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 35% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
79% of graduates (19 of 24) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas are about 15% below the national average, so a $35,899 salary here buys what about $42,109 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
$61,560Median pay in Kentucky. 12,780 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$66,390Median pay in Kentucky. 1,190 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$71,400Median pay in Kentucky. 100 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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 Eastern Kentucky University
Political Science ranks 21st of 41 bachelor's programs at Eastern Kentucky University by first-year earnings. The top three are Quality Control and Safety Technology ($71,240), Construction Management ($68,726), and Nursing ($68,633).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Richmond
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,899 one year after graduating and $48,324 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $31,777.
The median federal loan balance is $21,498, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 political science bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%.
Most do. 79% (19 of 24) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating.
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 Kentucky 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