Which Louisiana political science program has the lowest debt?

Tulane University of Louisiana reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,500, with first-year pay of $41,265.

How much do political science graduates earn in Louisiana?

The median across 7 Louisiana political science bachelor's programs is $28,518 in the first year after graduating and $58,389 five years after.

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

7 Louisiana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

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

7 programs report first-year pay
7 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 Louisiana political science bachelor's program pays its graduates $28,518 in their first year, $6,966 less than the national median. Tulane University of Louisiana reports the highest first-year pay ($41,265), and Tulane University of Louisiana the lowest median debt ($19,500).

Median first-year pay$28,518National $35,484

Median pay after 5 years$58,389National $61,481

Median federal debt$24,261National $23,500

Debt-to-earnings77%National 65%

All 7 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	Tulane University of LouisianaNew Orleans · private nonprofit	$41,265	$68,622	$19,500	47%
2	Louisiana Tech UniversityRuston · public	$34,640	Not reported	$25,054	72%
3	LSUBaton Rouge · public	$30,771	$66,283	$19,500	63%
4	UL LafayetteLafayette · public	$28,518	$50,048	$22,063	77%
5	Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond · public	$26,992	$31,962	$26,499	98%
6	Loyola University New OrleansNew Orleans · private nonprofit	$26,281	$61,282	$27,000	103%
7	UL MonroeMonroe · public	$23,450	$43,323	$23,467	100%

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

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Tulane University of Louisiana$41,265
Louisiana Tech University$34,640
LSU$30,771
UL Lafayette$28,518
Southeastern Louisiana University$26,992

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

$59,850

Median pay in Louisiana. 15,210 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $47,590Top 10%: $79,720

Social Science Research Assistants

$52,600

Median pay in Louisiana. 340 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $43,890Top 10%: $64,290

Economists

$73,050

Median pay in Louisiana. 140 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $60,680Top 10%: $136,970

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

Tulane University of Louisiana in New Orleans reports the highest median first-year pay, $41,265. Its median federal debt is $19,500.

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 Louisiana 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