Which Minnesota political science program has the lowest debt?

Augsburg University reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,000, with first-year pay of $37,807.

How much do political science graduates earn in Minnesota?

The median across 15 Minnesota political science bachelor's programs is $35,104 in the first year after graduating and $61,110 five years after.

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

15 Minnesota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

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

15 programs report first-year pay
15 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 Minnesota political science bachelor's program pays its graduates $35,104 in their first year, $380 less than the national median. University of Minnesota reports the highest first-year pay ($40,208), and Augsburg University the lowest median debt ($19,000).

Median first-year pay$35,104National $35,484

Median pay after 5 years$61,110National $61,481

Median federal debt$23,079National $23,500

Debt-to-earnings67%National 65%

All 15 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	University of MinnesotaMinneapolis · public	$40,208	$63,560	$20,465	51%
2	Macalester CollegeSaint Paul · private nonprofit	$39,439	$54,999	$23,250	59%
3	University of Minnesota-DuluthDuluth · public	$38,942	$63,212	$20,089	52%
4	Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint Peter · private nonprofit	$38,463	$61,638	$27,000	70%
5	Augsburg UniversityMinneapolis · private nonprofit	$37,807	Not reported	$19,000	50%
6	Winona StateWinona · public	$35,631	$58,224	$25,875	73%
7	Hamline UniversitySaint Paul · private nonprofit	$35,354	$56,685	$20,500	58%
8	College of Saint BenedictSaint Joseph · private nonprofit	$35,104	Not reported	$27,000	77%
9	University of St Thomas (Minnesota)Saint Paul · private nonprofit	$34,775	$63,199	$22,750	65%
10	Minnesota State MoorheadMoorhead · public	$33,220	Not reported	$22,125	67%
11	St Olaf CollegeNorthfield · private nonprofit	$30,953	$65,865	$24,250	78%
12	Carleton CollegeNorthfield · private nonprofit	$29,858	Not reported	$19,000	64%
13	Saint Cloud StateSaint Cloud · public	$28,991	$56,185	$22,908	79%
14	Concordia College at MoorheadMoorhead · private nonprofit	$27,466	$50,211	$27,000	98%
15	Saint Johns UniversityCollegeville · private nonprofit	$20,939	$64,842	$27,000	129%

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

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 15 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

$76,460

Median pay in Minnesota. 16,020 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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%: $49,160Top 10%: $121,220

Social Science Research Assistants

$44,920

Median pay in Minnesota. 300 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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%: $38,080Top 10%: $68,070

Economists

$105,120

Median pay in Minnesota. 500 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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%: $58,380Top 10%: $197,870

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

University of Minnesota in Minneapolis reports the highest median first-year pay, $40,208. Its median federal debt is $20,465.

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 Minnesota 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