Political Science and Government at Brigham Young University-Hawaii

First-year earnings around $35,600 place this program squarely at the national median for political science bachelor's degrees—but that's based on what similar programs typically produce across the country, not tracked outcomes from BYU-Hawaii itself. The estimated $24,625 in debt translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69, which is manageable compared to many humanities programs. However, Hawaii's job market tells a different story: the University of Hawaii at Manoa reports median earnings of just $24,964 for political science grads, nearly $11,000 below the national figure used here.

That gap matters because your child will likely be competing for jobs in Hawaii's limited government and nonprofit sector, where salaries don't match mainland standards and the cost of living is among the nation's highest. Political science degrees often serve as springboards to graduate programs in law or public policy rather than immediate careers, which means potentially accumulating more debt before seeing substantial earnings. If your child plans to stay in Hawaii post-graduation, the local salary reality should weigh heavily in your calculations.

The estimation here reflects what's typical nationally, but BYU-Hawaii's small political science cohort means we lack their specific graduate outcomes. Given Hawaii's compressed salary structure and limited opportunities in this field, treat this as a degree that makes more sense if your child has clear plans for mainland employment, graduate school, or specific government connections—not as a general-purpose credential for island job hunting.