Hobart William Smith Colleges Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Private nonprofit college
- Geneva, NY
- About 17 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Hobart William Smith Colleges political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $35,381 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 New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 9.7% 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 Rochester area are about 3% below the national average, so a $35,381 salary here buys what about $36,462 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
$97,070Median pay in New York. 70,660 people work in this job in New York. 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
$61,210Median pay in New York. 3,040 people work in this job in New York. 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
$136,660Median pay in New York. 910 people work in this job in New York. 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. 130 people work in this job in New York. 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 Hobart William Smith Colleges
Political Science ranks 8th of 12 bachelor's programs at Hobart William Smith Colleges by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($72,158), Economics ($61,946), and Communications ($50,750).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Geneva
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,381 one year after graduating. The median across political science bachelor's programs in New York is $35,158.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 42nd lowest of 45 political science bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 76% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
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 New York 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