Bachelor's · Los Angeles, California
Is Political Science and Government at California State University-Los Angeles worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.2 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $43,020
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $60,218
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $12,500
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $10k (likely $10k – $14k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $20k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 2.2 years (likely 1.5–2.9)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$4k (likely −$63k – $59k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $258k (likely $130k – $412k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 55%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Political Science and Government at other schools
⚖️ Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward law, government & society majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP U.S. Government and Politics
- AP U.S. History
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP Comparative Government and Politics
IB Higher Level
- History HL
- Global Politics HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at California State University-Los Angeles
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's)$137,184
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$126,611
- Civil Engineering (Master's)$120,651
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$118,058
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's)$116,182
- Special Education and Teaching (Master's)$104,208
- Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's)$101,094
- Mechanical Engineering (Master's)$99,093
- Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral)$96,577
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's)$96,014
- Civil Engineering (Bachelor's)$94,760
- Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's)$93,028
Political Science and Government at other schools in California
- Santa Clara University$93,518
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$81,843
- Pepperdine University$75,954
- University of California-Berkeley$75,128
- University of Southern California$75,090
- University of California-Los Angeles$74,202
- Claremont McKenna College$73,826
- Northeastern University Oakland$73,539
- Occidental College$72,441
- Loyola Marymount University$72,375