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2023 Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools

110 Colleges
$70,516 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 49,282 people earned a degree or certificate in political science and government, making the major the #20 most popular in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 110 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Rice University

Houston, TX

Our analysis found Rice University to be the best school for political science and government students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Political Science & Government at Rice University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Teachers College at Columbia University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means The Graduate Center, CUNY is a great place for political science and government students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#4

Yale University

New Haven, CT

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Yale University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Political Science & Government at Yale University Report

#5

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

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#6

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Political Science & Government at Harvard University Report

#7

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Duke University

#8

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.

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#9

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree political science and government programs. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#10

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

Full Political Science & Government at Brown University Report

#11

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree political science and government programs. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#12

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree political science and government programs. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Princeton University

#13

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Northwestern University

#14

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Pennsylvania

#15

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #15 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full Political Science & Government at University of Chicago Report

#16

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #16, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for political science and government students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Political Science & Government at Vanderbilt University Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
17 Georgetown University Washington, DC
18 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
19 Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA
20 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
21 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
22 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY

Political Science & Government by Region

View the Best Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 12 majors within the area of study, political science and government has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to UKWiki at English Wikipedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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