Political Science and Government at Wabash College

Wabash's political science program sits at the 40th percentile among Indiana schools, which means three out of five comparable programs in the state deliver better first-year earnings. At $32,834, graduates start roughly $2,000 below Indiana's median and nearly $3,000 below the national median. Compare this to DePauw (another small Indiana liberal arts college) where poli sci grads earn $44,224, or Notre Dame at $55,316. On the positive side, debt here is exceptionally low—in just the 5th percentile nationally—making the immediate financial burden manageable even if starting salaries disappoint.

The 73% earnings jump by year four suggests graduates eventually find their footing, reaching $56,880. However, keep in mind the sample size is quite small (under 30 graduates tracked), so these numbers could shift significantly with different cohorts. The low debt matters here: at 0.82 times first-year earnings, new graduates face less than a year's salary in loans, which is reasonable for a liberal arts degree.

For a political science major planning law school, graduate programs, or public service work where initial earnings naturally lag, Wabash's low debt makes sense. But if your student expects their bachelor's to be the terminal degree and needs strong immediate earnings, other Indiana options deliver better starting outcomes without dramatically higher debt loads.