Best Political Scientist programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology.
44 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,807 people a year. The job pays a median of $103,780 in Illinois across about 110 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Political Science and Government, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.1001In Illinois → | 1,255 | 69.5% | 39 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 2 | International Relations and Affairsmain feeder CIP 45.0901In Illinois → | 224 | 12.4% | 12 | $37,878 | $21,750 |
| 3 | CIP 44.0501In Illinois → | 201 | 11.1% | 8 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 4 | International/Globalization Studiesmain feeder CIP 30.2001In Illinois → | 111 | 6.1% | 11 | $32,906 | $21,966 |
| 5 | History and Political Sciencemain feeder CIP 30.4601In Illinois → | 6 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
| 6 | CIP 44.0504In Illinois → | 6 | 0.3% | 1 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 7 | CIP 45.0999In Illinois → | 4 | 0.2% | 1 | $37,878 | $21,750 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 19 of the 44 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 300 | International Relations and Affairs | — | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 281 | Political Science and Government, General | $35,172 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 221 | Political Science and Government, General | $37,531 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 4 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 189 | Political Science and Government, General | $37,007 | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 5 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 141 | Political Science and Government, General | $54,737 | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 6 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 120 | Political Science and Government, General | $38,363 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 7 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 82 | Political Science and Government, General | $32,225 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 8 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Political Science and Government, General | $34,519 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 9 | Wheaton College Wheaton, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 51 | Political Science and Government, General | $45,069 | 85% | $23,461 | 87% |
| 10 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 41 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 53% | — | 86% |
| 11 | Adler University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Public Policy Analysis, General | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Political Science and Government, General | $28,721 | 47% | — | 65% |
| 13 | Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 22 | Political Science and Government, General | $34,317 | 78% | $25,052 | 57% |
| 14 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Political Science and Government, General | $25,912 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 15 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Political Science and Government, General | $31,786 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Political Science and Government, General | $26,635 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 17 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Political Science and Government, General | $35,626 | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 18 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Political Science and Government, General | $32,359 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 19 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Political Science and Government, General | $31,902 | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 20 | North Park University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 58% | $18,494 | 69% |
| 21 | Aurora University Aurora, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 60% | $18,431 | 81% |
| 22 | Benedictine University Lisle, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 50% | $23,570 | 95% |
| 23 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 55% | $16,176 | 90% |
| 24 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 22% | — | 48% |
| 25 | Knox College Galesburg, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Political Science and Government, General | — | 68% | $24,240 | 71% |
All 44 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 300 | 4 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 281 | 2 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 221 | 5 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 189 | 4 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 141 | 3 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 120 | 2 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 82 | 1 |
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 70 | 1 |
| Wheaton College | Wheaton | Private not-for-profit | 51 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Springfield | Springfield | Public | 41 | 3 |
| Adler University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 1 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Lake Forest College | Lake Forest | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 2 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 21 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 19 | 2 |
What political scientists earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $142,080. Illinois pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Political Scientists page.
How to become a Political Scientist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 13 majors mapped to Political Scientists12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.2001International/Globalization Studies
- 30.4601History and Political Science
- 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- 44.0501Public Policy Analysis, General
- 44.0504International Policy Analysis
- 45.0901International Relations and Affairs
- 45.0902National Security Policy Studies
- 45.0999International Relations and National Security Studies, Other
- 45.1001Political Science and Government, General
- 45.1002American Government and Politics (United States)
- 45.1003Canadian Government and Politics(no graduates reported)
- 45.1004Political Economy
- 45.1099Political Science and Government, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing political scientists programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Political Scientist?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Political Science and Government, General, which awarded 1,255 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 69.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Political Scientist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Political Science and Government, International Relations and National Security Studies, Public Policy Analysis, International/Globalization Studies, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,807 people a year in Illinois.
How much do political scientists earn in Illinois?+
The median is $103,780 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 27.0% below the U.S. median of $142,080. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for political scientists growing?+
BLS projects a -3.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
44 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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