Kenyon College Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Private nonprofit college
- Gambier, OH
- About 41 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Kenyon College political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $39,550 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,354 in federal loans, less than at 85% of political science programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying political science degrees in Ohio.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Ohio and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Ohio 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 $195 a month, or 5.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the parts of Ohio outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $39,550 salary here buys what about $44,784 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
$78,800Median pay in Ohio. 49,540 people work in this job in Ohio. 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
$50,330Median pay in Ohio. 240 people work in this job in Ohio. 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
$120,000Median pay in Ohio. 140 people work in this job in Ohio. 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
$119,370Median pay in Ohio. 40 people work in this job in Ohio. 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 Kenyon College
Political Science ranks 2nd of 5 bachelor's programs at Kenyon College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($58,082), Political Science ($39,550), and Psychology ($39,203).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Gambier
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,550 one year after graduating. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Ohio is $32,586.
The median federal loan balance is $18,354, which ranks the lowest of 21 political science bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $195 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 46% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Ohio programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
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 Ohio 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