Political Science and Government at Ashford University

Something's off here. Ashford's political science graduates earn $55,196 their first year out—putting them ahead of 95% of similar programs nationally and statewide, even edging past Stanford grads. But by year four, those same graduates see earnings drop 30% to just $38,857. That's a dramatic reversal that warrants serious scrutiny.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes this data particularly unreliable. With so few data points, just a handful of graduates in unusual circumstances could skew the entire picture. The year-one spike could reflect a few grads who landed unusually lucrative jobs, while the year-four drop might capture others who pivoted to lower-paying work or left the workforce temporarily. The debt load of $32,813 is manageable at the initial salary, but becomes problematic if that earnings decline reflects reality. For context, California's typical political science grad from programs statewide carries just $17,500 in debt while earning $35,297—a more modest but stable starting point.

The pattern here—exceptionally high initial earnings followed by steep decline—is exactly the kind of anomaly that emerges from tiny sample sizes. Parents should treat these numbers as unreliable until Ashford produces enough graduates to generate a stable dataset. The comparative data from established California programs like UC Berkeley ($45,418) shows what normal trajectories look like in this field.