Political Science and Government at Suffolk University

Suffolk University's political science program produces strong graduates, but your student will be competing against some of Massachusetts' elite institutions in the job market. While the program ranks in the 90th percentile nationally—crushing the typical political science graduate who earns $35,627 within a year—it lands in the middle of the pack (60th percentile) among Bay State programs. That gap matters in a state where Harvard, Tufts, and Amherst grads dominate the political and nonprofit sectors that typically hire these majors.

The debt picture looks manageable at first glance: $27,000 represents just 60% of first-year earnings, and graduates see solid 26% income growth by year four, reaching nearly $57,000. However, that $27,000 is still higher than both the state and national medians for this major, and when political science graduates from nearby institutions can land $60,000+ starting positions, the extra debt burden becomes harder to justify.

This is a reasonable choice if your child is specifically drawn to Suffolk's Boston location and government internship connections, but acknowledge that they'll need to be aggressive about networking and internships to compete with the elite college graduates flooding Boston's policy jobs. If they're considering other Massachusetts schools for political science, run the numbers carefully—some programs deliver similar outcomes with less debt.