BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Online Political Science Degrees (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Key takeaway: Political science is the systematic study of government, political behavior, and public law – institutions, elections, courts, legislatures, and the comparative and international systems around them. At the bachelor’s level it is usually a BA built on five subfields plus a research-methods sequence. At the graduate level the MA is an applied and analytic degree; the PhD is the research credential. The occupation named “political scientist” is small and mostly closed to bachelor’s holders: 6,500 jobs and about 500 openings a year, with employment projected to fall 3.1 percent from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Most graduates work in analysis, government administration, communications, compliance, and law-adjacent roles instead. There is no programmatic accreditor for the field, so institutional accreditation is the check that matters. Compare accredited programs below.
The academic core is explanation: why institutions produce the outcomes they do, why voters and legislators behave as they do, and how you would know. Around that core, programs layer subfield coursework, a methods sequence, and a capstone or thesis. In IPEDS 2024, 1,040 institutions reported bachelor’s-or-higher completions in political science and government, and 873 of those institutions reported offering distance-education programs (IPEDS 2024). Accredited online programs generally award the same degree titles as campus programs; browse the best accredited online colleges to compare schools that offer them. To find programs near you, see political science programs by state.
Schools Offering Political Science Programs
These accredited schools offer online programs. Request information to compare programs, formats, and costs.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Political science graduates spread across analysis, government, advocacy, communications, and law-adjacent work. The occupations below are commonly associated with the degree. Median annual wages come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
Median annual wage for the highest-paying political science careers. Source: BLS OEWS. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Highest-paying political science careers. Source: BLS OEWS (May 2025 release)
Occupation
Median annual wage
Political Scientists
$142,080
Management Analysts
$101,860
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$98,070
Compliance Officers
$80,730
Social and Community Service Managers
$80,390
Public Relations Specialists
$74,750
Survey Researchers
$69,460
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
$62,890
</> Embed or cite this chart
Copy this code to embed the chart (a link back to this page is included):
Projected job growth (2024-2034) for political science careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Fastest-growing political science careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections (2024-2034)
Occupation
Projected job growth (2024-2034)
Management Analysts
8.8%
Social and Community Service Managers
6.4%
Public Relations Specialists
4.8%
Compliance Officers
3.0%
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
2.0%
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
0.2%
Political Scientists
-3.1%
Survey Researchers
-5.2%
</> Embed or cite this chart
Copy this code to embed the chart (a link back to this page is included):
Political ScientistsSOC 19-3094
$142,080Median annual pay
Median hourly$68.31
Mean annual$142,510
Employment (US)5,540
Pay range (25-75%)$114,030 - $174,180
Political Science Teachers, PostsecondarySOC 25-1065
$98,070Median annual pay
Mean annual$108,100
Employment (US)16,970
Pay range (25-75%)$73,260 - $129,130
Management AnalystsSOC 13-1111
$101,860Median annual pay
Median hourly$48.97
Mean annual$113,790
Employment (US)898,280
Pay range (25-75%)$77,950 - $133,370
Public Relations SpecialistsSOC 27-3031
$74,750Median annual pay
Median hourly$35.94
Mean annual$84,120
Employment (US)283,380
Pay range (25-75%)$56,260 - $100,370
Survey ResearchersSOC 19-3022
$69,460Median annual pay
Median hourly$33.40
Mean annual$79,580
Employment (US)8,290
Pay range (25-75%)$51,270 - $99,760
Paralegals and Legal AssistantsSOC 23-2011
$62,890Median annual pay
Median hourly$30.24
Mean annual$69,700
Employment (US)392,880
Pay range (25-75%)$50,340 - $80,080
Compliance OfficersSOC 13-1041
$80,730Median annual pay
Median hourly$38.81
Mean annual$88,400
Employment (US)417,070
Pay range (25-75%)$61,280 - $109,010
Social and Community Service ManagersSOC 11-9151
$80,390Median annual pay
Median hourly$38.65
Mean annual$88,880
Employment (US)209,330
Pay range (25-75%)$64,290 - $103,200
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Read the wage table with the employment counts next to it, because the highest-paying occupation on this list is also the smallest and the only one shrinking. Political scientists had a median annual wage of $142,080 – the 10th percentile was $83,350 and the 90th was $195,190 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). The occupation employed 6,500 people in 2024, is projected to decline 3.1 percent through 2034, and generates roughly 500 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Nearly all of those jobs sit in federal agencies, research organizations, and policy institutes, and nearly all of them ask for a master’s or a doctorate. Political science teachers, postsecondary, earned a median of $98,070 – the 10th percentile was $56,450 and the 90th was $174,660 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS); that occupation employed 21,800 people in 2024, is projected to grow 2.0 percent, and adds about 1,600 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Tenure-track posts typically require a PhD.
The occupations that absorb most graduates are larger and less obviously political. Management analysts, the umbrella occupation for much consulting and government program analysis, had a median annual wage of $101,860 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS) and 98,100 openings a year against 8.8 percent projected growth (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Compliance officers earned a median of $80,730 with 33,300 annual openings, and social and community service managers earned $80,390 with 18,600 annual openings (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Public relations specialists earned a median of $74,750 and paralegals and legal assistants $62,890 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Individual outcomes vary by employer, geography, security clearance, specialization, and experience.
Quick Answers
What is a political science degree?
A political science degree is the academic study of government and political behavior: how institutions are designed, how power is distributed and constrained, how courts interpret law, how voters and legislators decide, and how states interact. The training is analytic rather than vocational. You learn to build an argument from evidence, read law and legislative text closely, and evaluate quantitative claims about political outcomes.
What are the subfields of political science?
Most departments organize around five: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and public law. A sixth, political methodology, is the statistics and research-design sequence that runs underneath the others. Online programs vary in how many subfields they staff, so check whether the department can actually teach the one you care about rather than assuming the catalog list is fully offered each year.
Is political science the same as public policy or public administration?
No. Political science explains political behavior and institutions. Public policy analyzes specific policy problems and evaluates interventions. Public administration trains you to run public organizations: budgeting, personnel, procurement, and program management. Political science is the broadest and least applied of the three, which is a strength if you want analytic range and a weakness if you want a job title on graduation day.
Do you need a graduate degree to work as a political scientist?
For the occupation BLS labels “political scientist,” effectively yes. Federal agencies, research institutes, and policy organizations that use the title generally require a master’s or a doctorate, and the occupation is small: 6,500 jobs and about 500 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). A bachelor’s in political science is a general analytic credential that opens a much wider set of roles under different titles.
Is there a programmatic accreditor for political science?
No. No recognized agency accredits political science programs specifically. Verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database. Related applied fields do have one – the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration accredits MPA and MPP degrees – but that accreditation does not extend to a political science MA.
What you’ll study
Political science curricula generally move through three layers, and the middle one is where students most often underestimate the workload.
The first layer is the survey sequence. Introductory courses in American government, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory establish the vocabulary: federalism, separation of powers, party systems, regime types, sovereignty, legitimacy, the difference between a parliamentary and a presidential system. These courses are reading-heavy and argument-heavy. You are graded on whether your claims survive contact with the evidence, not on whether you hold the right opinions.
The second layer is methods. A real political science major requires research design and quantitative analysis: sampling, measurement, hypothesis testing, regression, and increasingly some work in statistical software. This is the part that transfers most directly to paid analytic work, and it is the part most often thin in weaker programs. When you compare catalogs, look for a required methods course with a data component, not a “research writing” course that only covers citation format. If the analytic side is the appeal, compare economics, which pushes the quantitative training further.
The third layer is subfield depth and a capstone. You choose a concentration – American politics, comparative, international relations, political theory, or public law – and write a substantial research paper or thesis in it. At the bachelor’s level, expect roughly 120 semester hours with the political science core in the junior and senior years. At the graduate level, an MA typically combines advanced methods, subfield seminars, and either a thesis or a capstone project. Confirm each school’s credit total and calendar rather than assuming they match.
Online formats deliver this well when the discussion is real and the methods course has genuine assignments. See how online political science degrees work before you enroll.
Careers for political science graduates
The work splits into recognizable shapes, and only one of them carries the discipline’s name.
Research and analysis is the closest fit. Management analysts, program analysts, and policy researchers evaluate how organizations and programs work and recommend changes. Management analysts had a median annual wage of $101,860 and 98,100 openings a year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Survey researchers, a smaller and shrinking occupation at a median of $69,460 with 5.2 percent projected decline, sit at the methods end of the same work (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
Government and nonprofit administration is the largest employer of political science graduates in practice, under titles like legislative aide, program coordinator, agency analyst, and constituent services manager. Social and community service managers earned a median of $80,390 with 18,600 annual openings (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). If running the organization is the goal rather than studying it, public administration is the more direct degree.
Communications and advocacy absorbs graduates into campaigns, government affairs, trade associations, and press offices. Public relations specialists earned a median of $74,750 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Regulatory and compliance work is a quieter but larger channel: compliance officers earned $80,730 with 33,300 annual openings (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
Law-adjacent work is the traditional destination. Political science is one of the most common pre-law majors, though no major is required for law school admission. Paralegals and legal assistants earned a median of $62,890 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS); that role usually wants a paralegal certificate or associate degree rather than a political science BA, so treat it as an adjacent path, not an automatic one. For the coursework version of this route, see legal studies. For the job-by-job walkthrough, see what you can do with a political science degree.
How to choose an online political science program
Accreditation – confirm recognized institutional accreditation through the U.S. Department of Education database. There is no programmatic accreditor for political science, so institutional accreditation is the check that matters.
Methods sequence – confirm the major requires research design and quantitative analysis with real data assignments. This is the single largest difference between programs that lead to analytic jobs and programs that do not.
Subfield staffing – ask how often courses in your intended concentration are actually offered online, not just whether they appear in the catalog.
Degree level – decide between a bachelor’s and an MA, and be honest about whether your target job requires the graduate credential.
Capstone or thesis – confirm you will produce a substantial research paper you can show an employer or a graduate admissions committee.
Cost – compare total program cost including fees and required credits rather than the advertised per-credit rate, and review how to evaluate affordability.
Internships and placement – ask whether online students can access legislative, agency, or campaign internships, and how the school supports remote placements.
Political science or a related field? Choose political science for the analytic study of institutions and behavior. Choose public policy if you want to analyze and evaluate specific policy problems, public administration if you want to manage public organizations, international relations if the focus is diplomacy, security, and cross-border institutions, economics if you want deeper quantitative training, or legal studies if law and the courts are the real interest.
