Which District of Columbia political science program has the lowest debt?

Georgetown University reports the lowest median federal debt, $16,500, with first-year pay of $55,247.

How much do political science graduates earn in District of Columbia?

The median across 6 District of Columbia political science bachelor's programs is $48,985 in the first year after graduating and $78,954 five years after.

How many political science bachelor's programs are in District of Columbia?

6 District of Columbia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

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

6 programs report first-year pay
6 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 District of Columbia political science bachelor's program pays its graduates $48,985 in their first year, $13,501 more than the national median. Georgetown University reports the highest first-year pay ($55,247), and Georgetown University the lowest median debt ($16,500).

Median first-year pay$48,985National $35,484

Median pay after 5 years$78,954National $61,481

Median federal debt$24,125National $23,500

Debt-to-earnings52%National 65%

All 6 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	Georgetown UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$55,247	$86,431	$16,500	30%
2	George Washington UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$51,537	$86,946	$23,000	45%
3	University of the District of ColumbiaWashington · public	$49,935	Not reported	$36,562	73%
4	American UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$48,034	$78,954	$23,250	48%
5	Catholic University of AmericaWashington · private nonprofit	$44,617	$70,657	$25,000	56%
6	Howard UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$31,897	$59,986	$27,000	85%

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia political science program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Georgetown University$55,247
George Washington University$51,537
University of the District of Columbia$49,935
American University$48,034
Catholic University of America$44,617

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

$82,750

Median pay in District of Columbia. 2,800 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $50,750Top 10%: $128,170

Social Science Research Assistants

$65,330

Median pay in District of Columbia. 1,560 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $50,810Top 10%: $112,030

Economists

$167,590

Median pay in District of Columbia. 3,000 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $98,350Top 10%: $299,110

Political Scientists

$152,530

Median pay in District of Columbia. 3,070 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $114,920Top 10%: $195,190

Common questions

Georgetown University in Washington reports the highest median first-year pay, $55,247. Its median federal debt is $16,500.

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 District of Columbia 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