UT Chattanooga Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Public university
- Chattanooga, TN
- About 43 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UT Chattanooga political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $39,490 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,150 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,500. It is one of the higher-paying political science degrees in Tennessee.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UT Chattanooga graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,037 less than the Tennessee median. Several Tennessee programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee 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 19% 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 $14,182 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $235 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
79% of graduates (33 of 42) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating. Prices in the Chattanooga area are about 9% below the national average, so a $39,490 salary here buys what about $43,175 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
$61,860Median pay in Tennessee. 21,230 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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
$46,410Median pay in Tennessee. 140 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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
$117,650Median pay in Tennessee. 80 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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 UT Chattanooga
Political Science ranks 11th of 23 bachelor's programs at UT Chattanooga by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($75,273), Mechanical Engineering ($66,517), and Civil Engineering ($65,419).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Chattanooga
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,490 one year after graduating and $47,072 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $34,635.
The median federal loan balance is $22,150, which ranks 3rd lowest of 10 political science bachelor's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $235 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 56% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%.
Most do. 79% (33 of 42) were working in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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