How much debt do Trinity College political science graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 6th lowest of 10 political science bachelor's programs in Connecticut. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Is a political science degree from Trinity College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 58% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%.

Trinity College Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
Private nonprofit college
Hartford, CT
About 77 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Trinity College political science graduates earn more than graduates of most political science programs nationally, $42,979 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,500. Two other Connecticut programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$42,97983rd percentile of 504 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$80,06186% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,0006th lowest of 10 Connecticut programs

Debt-to-earnings58%Connecticut median 67%, national 65%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Connecticut and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Trinity College	Connecticut	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$42,979	$37,718	$35,484
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$80,061	$76,871	$61,481
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$25,000	$23,500
Debt as share of first-year pay	58%	67%	65%
Programs compared		10	504

Five years out, Trinity College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $3,190 more than the Connecticut median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Connecticut political science program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Connecticut medians.

Trinity CollegeOther Connecticut programs

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 86% between the first and fifth year.

Trinity College grads, year 1$42,979

Trinity College grads, year 5$80,061

All Connecticut political science grads, year 5$76,871

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 $265 a month, or 7.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (39 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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 Hartford area are about 3% above the national average, so a $42,979 salary here buys what about $41,830 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

$80,970

Median pay in Connecticut. 14,800 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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.

Bottom 10%: $51,710Top 10%: $113,610

Social Science Research Assistants

$60,110

Median pay in Connecticut. 50 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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.

Bottom 10%: $35,860Top 10%: $88,270

Economists

$101,400

Median pay in Connecticut. 210 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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.

Bottom 10%: $74,740Top 10%: $166,060

Political Scientists

$142,080

Median 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 Trinity College

Tuition and fees	$70,770 / year
Average net price after aid	$34,832 / year
Admission rate	29%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	84%
Undergraduate students	2,146

Political Science ranks 9th of 9 bachelor's programs at Trinity College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($71,191), Mathematics ($63,076), and Public Policy ($56,902).

Other political science bachelor's programs near Hartford

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Trinity CollegeHartford, CT · private nonprofit		$42,979	$25,000
University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT · private nonprofit	4 mi	$35,492	$27,000
Central Connecticut StateNew Britain, CT · public	5 mi	$25,270	$18,689
UConnStorrs, CT · public	23 mi	$37,009	$22,375
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, CT · private nonprofit	25 mi	$26,440	$27,000
Westfield StateWestfield, MA · public	27 mi	$36,577	$24,783
Southern Connecticut StateNew Haven, CT · public	32 mi	$41,383	$26,499
Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · private nonprofit	33 mi	$57,466	$15,000
Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley, MA · private nonprofit	36 mi	$48,690	$21,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $42,979 one year after graduating and $80,061 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Connecticut is $37,718.

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 Connecticut 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

Political Science bachelor's programs in Connecticut, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Political Science bachelor's programs in the US, ranked504 programs by pay and debt All Trinity College programs, ranked9 programs by pay and debt