Which Connecticut political science program has the lowest debt?

Yale University reports the lowest median federal debt, $15,000, with first-year pay of $57,466.

How much do political science graduates earn in Connecticut?

The median across 10 Connecticut political science bachelor's programs is $37,718 in the first year after graduating and $76,871 five years after.

How many political science bachelor's programs are in Connecticut?

10 Connecticut programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

Political Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Connecticut, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

10 programs report first-year pay
10 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Political Science and Government

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Connecticut political science bachelor's program pays its graduates $37,718 in their first year, $2,234 more than the national median. Yale University reports the highest first-year pay ($57,466), and Yale University the lowest median debt ($15,000).

Median first-year pay$37,718National $35,484

Median pay after 5 years$76,871National $61,481

Median federal debt$25,000National $23,500

Debt-to-earnings67%National 65%

All 10 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Yale UniversityNew Haven · private nonprofit	$57,466	$123,834	$15,000	26%
2	Connecticut CollegeNew London · private nonprofit	$46,588	$104,506	$24,800	53%
3	Trinity CollegeHartford · private nonprofit	$42,979	$80,061	$25,000	58%
4	Southern Connecticut StateNew Haven · public	$41,383	Not reported	$26,499	64%
5	Fairfield UniversityFairfield · private nonprofit	$38,426	$81,620	$27,000	70%
6	UConnStorrs · public	$37,009	$74,491	$22,375	60%
7	University of HartfordWest Hartford · private nonprofit	$35,492	$64,946	$27,000	76%
8	Quinnipiac UniversityHamden · private nonprofit	$26,440	$76,871	$27,000	102%
9	Central Connecticut StateNew Britain · public	$25,270	$53,907	$18,689	74%
10	Sacred Heart UniversityFairfield · private nonprofit	$17,262	Not reported	$20,750	120%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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.

Common questions

Yale University in New Haven reports the highest median first-year pay, $57,466. Its median federal debt is $15,000.

Political Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked504 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the political science bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024