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2023 Best Value Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

178 Colleges
$19,377 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,486 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree School for You

Political Science & Government is the #75 most popular major in the country with 2,664 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 178 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for political science students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for political science majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Political Science & Government

Our 2023 rankings named American Public University System the best value school in the United States for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at American Military University are $7,050 per year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at American Public University System

#2

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at The Graduate Center, CUNY helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value political science and government schools in the United States. Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The Graduate Center graduate students pay an average of $23,640 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, The Graduate Center also is in the top 5% of our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

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Out of the 178 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Illinois State also did well on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value political science and government schools in the United States. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WIU are $12,182 a year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Western Illinois University

Northern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NIU are $11,390 a year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Northern Illinois University

Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree political science and government programs. The Citadel is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at The Citadel are $18,540 per year.

The Citadel excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list.

Full Political Science & Government at Citadel Military College of South Carolina Report

University of Delaware ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Newark, UD is a public college with a very large student population.

UD graduate students pay an average of $18,128 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UD also did well on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Delaware

#9

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Villanova are $21,199 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Villanova also is in the top 5% of our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

Full Political Science & Government at Villanova University Report

#10

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Cornell graduate students pay an average of $30,006 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cornell also is in the top 5% of our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Cornell University

University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.

University of Akron Main Campus graduate students pay an average of $11,936 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Political Science & Government at University of Akron Main Campus Report

Arkansas State University - Main Campus came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking. A-State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Jonesboro.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at A-State are $11,408 a year.

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Texas Woman’s University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking. TWU is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.

Full Political Science & Government at Texas Woman’s University Report

#14

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree political science and government programs. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marquette are $21,960 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Marquette also is in the top 10% of our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

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With a ranking of #15, Teachers College at Columbia University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Teachers College graduate students pay an average of $35,054 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Teachers College also is in the top 5% of our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools ranking.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Teachers College at Columbia University

University of Illinois at Springfield ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. UIS is a small public school located in the city of Springfield.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UIS are $16,757 per year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Illinois at Springfield

#17

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

With a ranking of #17, Augusta University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Augusta, Augusta University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Augusta University graduate students pay an average of $20,712 in tuition and fees each year.

Augusta University also claimed a spot on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Augusta University

#18

Texas State University

San Marcos, TX

Texas State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Texas State is a very large public school located in the small city of San Marcos.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Texas State are $17,220 per year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Texas State University

University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree political science and government programs. Located in the large city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college with a large student population.

UNOMAHA graduate students pay an average of $16,374 in tuition and fees each year.

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With a ranking of #20, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best value schools for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 per year.

UT Austin also claimed a spot on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at The University of Texas at Austin

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $29,262 in tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Berkeley

University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Madison is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list.

Read More…

#23

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #23, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $33,520 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, University of Virginia is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#24

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

Texas Tech University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Texas Tech graduate students pay an average of $17,698 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at Texas Tech University

#25

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.

GWU graduate students pay an average of $32,904 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, GWU also did well on our Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Political Science & Government at George Washington University Report

Rest of the Top Best Value Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools

#26

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Political Science & Government graduate students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
27 University of North Texas Denton, TX
28 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
29 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
30 Rice University Houston, TX
30 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
32 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
33 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
33 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
33 California State University - Chico Chico, CA

Political Science & Government by Region

View the Best Value Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 12 majors within the area of study, political science and government has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to UKWiki at English Wikipedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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