Northern Arizona University Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Public university
- Flagstaff, AZ
- About 58 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northern Arizona University political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $35,220 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,500 in federal loans, less than at 77% of political science programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying political science degrees in Arizona.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arizona and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northern Arizona University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,388 less than the Arizona median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arizona political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arizona 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 58% 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, but borrowed more: a median of $22,015 against $15,000.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $207 a month, or 7.1% 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. Separately, 24 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $22,314.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
59% of graduates (42 of 71) were working in Arizona one year after graduating. Prices in the Flagstaff area are about the same as the national average.
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
$58,360Median pay in Arizona. 21,190 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$61,680Median pay in Arizona. 1,020 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$79,610Median pay in Arizona. 340 people work in this job in Arizona. 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
$108,770Median pay in Arizona. 50 people work in this job in Arizona. 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 Northern Arizona University
Political Science ranks 33rd of 52 bachelor's programs at Northern Arizona University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($76,782), Construction Management ($76,708), and Computer Science ($74,815).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,220 one year after graduating and $55,683 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Arizona is $37,704.
The median federal loan balance is $19,500, which ranks the lowest of 5 political science bachelor's programs in Arizona. That works out to about $207 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 55% 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. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Arizona programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 59% (42 of 71) were working in Arizona 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 Arizona 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