Bachelor's · Cambridge, Massachusetts

Is Political Science and Government at Harvard University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $77,142; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $102,942; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $7,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $81k (likely $81k – $112k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $60k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.7 years (likely 2.2–3.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $277k (likely $151k – $405k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $987k (likely $716k – $1.29M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 97%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26