Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Schools for Political Science & Government

2026 Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools

There are 1,304 colleges that offer a degree in Political Science & Government. Learn more about the most popular schools below:

Finding the Best Political Science & Government School for You

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which Political Science & Government program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendance, there are many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 1,304 schools in the United States offering Political Science & Government programs. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school’s program.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools.

Our 2026 rankings named University of California-Los Angeles the most popular school in the U.S. for Political Science & Government majors. University of California-Los Angeles is a public school located in Los Angeles, CA. This school awarded 744 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $41,763. Full Political Science & Government at University of California-Los Angeles Report

#2

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Florida State University comes in at #2 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. Florida State University is a public school located in Tallahassee, FL. This school awarded 536 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $40,895. Full Political Science & Government at Florida State University Report

University of California-Berkeley landed the #3 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of California-Berkeley is a public school located in Berkeley, CA. This school awarded 438 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $57,445. Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California-Berkeley

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #4 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Located in Chapel Hill, NC, this is a public institution. This school awarded 428 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $51,058. Full Political Science & Government at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

Arizona State University Campus Immersion landed the #5 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Arizona State University Campus Immersion is a public school located in Tempe, AZ. This school awarded 415 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $48,210. Read More…

University of Central Florida comes in at #6 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. University of Central Florida is a public school located in Orlando, FL. During the most recent year for which we have data, 414 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $41,960. Read More…

#7

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida landed the #7 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of Florida is a public school located in Gainesville, FL. This school awarded 403 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $48,898. Read More…

George Washington University comes in at #8 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. George Washington University is a private nonprofit school located in Washington, DC. This school awarded 395 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $66,952. Read More…

University of Wisconsin-Madison landed the #9 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public school located in Madison, WI. During the most recent year for which we have data, 393 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,379. Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Wisconsin-Madison

University of Washington-Seattle Campus landed the #10 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of Washington-Seattle Campus is a public school located in Seattle, WA. This school awarded 375 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $53,990. Read More…

University of California-San Diego comes in at #11 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. Located in La Jolla, CA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 373 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $44,612. Full Political Science & Government at University of California-San Diego Report

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #12 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a public school located in Austin, TX. This school awarded 340 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $51,060. Read full report on Political Science & Government at The University of Texas at Austin

University of California-Santa Barbara landed the #13 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Located in Santa Barbara, CA, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 337 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $38,259. Read More…

Ohio State University-Main Campus comes in at #14 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. Located in Columbus, OH, this is a public institution. This school awarded 325 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $49,087. Full Political Science & Government at Ohio State University-Main Campus Report

Florida International University landed the #15 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Florida International University is a public school located in Miami, FL. During the most recent year for which we have data, 323 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,919. Full Political Science & Government at Florida International University Report

#16

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University landed the #16 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Located in Washington, DC, this is a private nonprofit institution. This school awarded 316 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $76,027. Read More…

University of California-Davis landed the #17 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of California-Davis is a public school located in Davis, CA. This school awarded 310 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $41,123. Full Political Science & Government at University of California-Davis Report

University of Maryland-College Park comes in at #18 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. University of Maryland-College Park is a public school located in College Park, MD. During the most recent year for which we have data, 304 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $56,509. Full Political Science & Government at University of Maryland-College Park Report

Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #19 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Columbia University in the City of New York is a private nonprofit school located in New York, NY. During the most recent year for which we have data, 301 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $75,228. Full Political Science & Government at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor landed the #20 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is a public school located in Ann Arbor, MI. During the most recent year for which we have data, 295 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $64,597. Read More…

#21

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

University of Georgia comes in at #21 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. Located in Athens, GA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 291 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $48,074. Read More…

University of California-Irvine landed the #22 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. Located in Irvine, CA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 289 degrees in Political Science & Government in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,474. Read More…

#23

American University

Washington, DC

American University landed the #23 spot in the 2026 edition of our Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking. American University is a private nonprofit school located in Washington, DC. During the most recent year for which we have data, 288 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $50,329. Full Political Science & Government at American University Report

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign comes in at #24 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public school located in Champaign, IL. During the most recent year for which we have data, 286 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $53,513. Full Political Science & Government at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Report

#25

New York University

New York, NY

New York University comes in at #25 on our 2026 list of the most popular colleges for Political Science & Government majors. Located in New York, NY, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 268 people earned their degree in Political Science & Government from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $59,956. Full Political Science & Government at New York University Report

#27

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA
#31

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR
#32

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

New Brunswick, NJ
#33

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL
#38

University of Houston

Houston, TX
#39

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD
#42

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA
#43

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA
#44

Howard University

Washington, DC
#46

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN
#50

Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that also graduate students in this major every year.

Rank College Location
51 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA
52 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
53 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA
54 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
55 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
56 University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
57 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
58 Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ
59 Yale University New Haven, CT
60 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
61 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
62 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
63 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
64 Fordham University Bronx, NY
65 North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC
66 Boston University Boston, MA
67 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
68 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
69 Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH
70 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
71 Northeastern University Boston, MA
72 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
73 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
74 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
75 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
76 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
77 Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA
78 Brigham Young University Provo, UT
79 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
80 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
81 Duke University Durham, NC
82 University at Albany Albany, NY
83 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
84 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
85 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
86 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
87 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
88 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
89 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
90 Baylor University Waco, TX
91 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
92 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
93 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
94 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
95 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
96 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
97 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
98 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
99 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
100 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
101 University of Chicago Chicago, IL
102 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
103 Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH
104 University of Delaware Newark, DE
105 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
106 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
107 American Public University System Charles Town, WV
108 Clemson University Clemson, SC
109 University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
110 Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN
111 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
112 CUNY Hunter College New York, NY
113 Stanford University Stanford, CA
114 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE
115 DePaul University Chicago, IL
116 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
117 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
118 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI
119 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY
120 California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA
121 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
122 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
123 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
124 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
125 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
126 Villanova University Villanova, PA
127 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
128 University of North Texas Denton, TX
129 Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO
130 Illinois State University Normal, IL
131 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
132 University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
133 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK
134 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
135 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA
136 Emory University Atlanta, GA
137 University of Mississippi University, MS
138 Washington State University Pullman, WA
139 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
140 University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
141 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY
142 University of Louisville Louisville, KY
143 Trinity College Hartford, CT
144 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL
145 University of Vermont Burlington, VT
146 Portland State University Portland, OR
147 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
148 College of Charleston Charleston, SC
149 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN
150 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
151 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
152 University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV
153 Auburn University Auburn, AL
154 California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
155 Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
156 University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL
157 CUNY Queens College Queens, NY
158 Lafayette College Easton, PA
159 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
160 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
161 St. John’s University-New York Queens, NY
162 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
163 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
164 Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA
165 Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
166 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
167 Brown University Providence, RI
168 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
169 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
170 Elon University Elon, NC
171 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX
172 California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA
173 California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA
174 Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ
175 The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX
176 Barnard College New York, NY
177 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
178 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
179 Tufts University Medford, MA
180 University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA
181 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH
182 Glendale Community College Glendale, CA
183 El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA
184 Iowa State University Ames, IA
185 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
186 Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA
187 Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI
188 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
189 Towson University Towson, MD
190 University of California-Merced Merced, CA
191 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
192 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL
193 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
194 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
195 Spelman College Atlanta, GA
196 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC
197 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE
198 California State University-Chico Chico, CA
199 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
200 Suffolk University Boston, MA

Political Science & Government by Region

See the most popular Political Science & Government schools in a specific region of the United States.

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

More Political Science & Government Rankings

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the Most Popular Political Science & Government Schools ranking, along with other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Political Science & Government Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science 43,359
Other Political Science & Government 1,031
American Government & Politics 286
Political Economy 266
Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 45,628
Sociology 31,380
General Social Sciences 17,510
International Relations & Security 13,035
Anthropology 10,768

References

*The average salary above is for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.