Hampden-Sydney College Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Private nonprofit college
- Hampden-Sydney, VA
- About 12 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Hampden-Sydney College political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $37,123 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 82% of political science programs in the country. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 9.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
73% of graduates (16 of 22) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Virginia outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $37,123 salary here buys what about $42,013 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
$72,170Median pay in Virginia. 31,100 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$53,260Median pay in Virginia. 700 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$137,590Median pay in Virginia. 950 people work in this job in Virginia. 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 Hampden-Sydney College
Political Science ranks 5th of 5 bachelor's programs at Hampden-Sydney College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($52,155), Business Economics ($52,087), and History ($42,949).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Hampden-Sydney
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,123 one year after graduating. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Virginia is $41,501.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 13th lowest of 15 political science bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 73% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 73% (16 of 22) were working in Virginia 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 Virginia 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