Political Science and Government at University of Scranton

Borrowing $26,000 for a political science degree raises questions when first-year earnings hover around $37,500—right at Pennsylvania's median for the field. While the Department of Education hasn't published outcomes specifically for University of Scranton graduates due to small sample sizes, similar programs across Pennsylvania suggest modest initial returns. The debt load itself sits at the national median, and the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69 is manageable by education finance standards. But what matters more is the trajectory: by year four, median earnings jump to $61,000, signaling that political science graduates from comparable programs often find their footing after a slow start.

The real story here is competition. Pennsylvania's top programs—Penn, Lehigh, Bucknell—produce political science graduates earning $48,000 to $65,000 in their first year, suggesting that institutional prestige or network effects create significant earnings gaps in this field. Scranton's estimated starting salary trails these programs by $10,000 to $28,000. For families weighing a $26,000 debt load, the question becomes whether Scranton's smaller, Jesuit-focused environment offers enough value beyond the numbers—networking, graduate school preparation, or specific career pipelines—to justify choosing it over either higher-earning programs or more affordable in-state options.

The four-year earnings bump provides some reassurance, but parents should recognize they're making this decision with incomplete information about Scranton's specific outcomes. If your child has realistic plans for graduate school or knows they'll need years to build a career in policy or advocacy, the debt is serviceable. If they're counting on immediate financial independence, the estimated starting salary may feel tight.