What countries are known for their political science courses?

The USA, the UK, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and Canada are among well-known countries that offer degree programs in political science.

Which countries pay the most for political scientists?

A political scientist in the USA earns the most money, with an average salary of 125,350 USD/year.

How do I go about becoming a political scientist?

The minimum qualification to become a political scientist is a master’s degree or Ph.D. in political science, public administration, or a comparable discipline.

What accreditations do universities that offer political science courses follow?

Any university or college that provides a political science degree needs to be accredited in order to be able to award degrees to students. Students interested in pursuing a political science degree should look for accreditation from one of the organizations listed below:New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)Higher Learning Commission (HLC)Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)

Top Political Science Universities in 2022-2023

Best Political Science Colleges and Universities in the World

About Political Science

Political science is a branch of social science that studies the origin, development, and operations of the political system through qualitative and quantitative research. It helps in better understanding the political institutions, government systems, and political behavior. Political science is an excellent choice for students who want to learn how political systems work as well as those who want to improve their critical thinking and analytical abilities.

Duties of a Political Science Major

Most political scientists typically work full-time in an office setting. They must possess attributes such as good analytical skills, creativity, communication skills, and critical thinking abilities to perform the following duties:

Conducting qualitative and quantitative research
Analyzing politics, government, political trends, policies, and other political issues like international relations
Gathering information on current policies and events using public opinion surveys, economic data, and election results to analyze the data statistically
Developing and testing policies and political theories
Predicting future political, social, and economic trends
Publishing article and research papers on their research
Assessing the impact of laws and policies on government and the public

Popular degrees for pursuing a career in Political Science

Political science has always been in high demand. For those interested in pursuing a career in political science, some of the top schools for political science offer the following degrees.

Bachelor’s Programs

There are two types of bachelor’s degrees offered in political science– B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) or B.S. (Bachelor of Science). The choice of degree depends upon the type of job the student is interested in, for example, political analyst or researcher who deals with statistics or large amounts of mathematical data, a B.S. degree in political science is suitable as it covers more math and science classes. While a B.A. in political science emphasizes more on critical thinking, communication, and all-around learning. The following are a few of the popular bachelor’s degrees in political science:

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
Bachelor of Arts in Historical and Political Studies
Bachelor of Science in Political Science
Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy
Bachelor of Science in Politics and Criminology
Bachelor of Science in International Relations
Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security
Bachelor of Science in Cyber Intelligence and Security
Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Master’s Programs

A master’s degree is typically required to enter the field of political science. After completing a bachelor’s degree in the relevant field, students typically go for an M.A. (Master of Arts) or M.S. (Master of Science) in the following subjects:

Public Administration
Public Affairs
Public Policy
International Relations
Political Economy

Doctoral Programs

Doctoral degrees are the terminal degrees one can pursue in the field of political science. Students interested in pursuing a career in academia can specialize in one of four major areas of political science:

P.h.D in Comparative Politics
P.h.D in International Relations
P.h.D in Political Theory
P.h.D in National Politics
P.h.D in Political Economy

A few of the best universities for political science also offer online degrees. These are designed to help students learn about politics in an engaging and effective online learning environment with the help of video tutorials, quizzes, and more.

Specializations in Political Science

Political science intersects with a variety of subjects of study and has a wide range of applications in a range of organizations. Students can do specializations in subjects like history, law, government, policymaking, policy dynamics, international relations, political theory, statistics, economics, legislative systems, psychology, comparative politics, and more.

Duration of Programs in Political Science

The duration of political science courses varies by university, however following is an approximate timetable of courses offered by some of the top universities:

Country	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree	Doctoral Degree
USA and Canada	3-4 years	1-2 years	4-7 years
UK	3-4 years	1-2 years	4-7 years
Australia	3-4 years	1-2 years	4-7 years
Others	3-4 years	1-2 years	4-7 years

Career opportunities in Political Science

Political science is one of the most popular majors sought after by students. It offers diverse career paths in areas such as government service, law, business, policy analysis, teaching, and consulting. The following are some outstanding political science job opportunities for students to consider:

Politician
Political scientist
Political consultant
Political campaign manager
Political economist
Public policy analyst
International policy analyst
Market researcher
Paralegal
Public relation specialist
Investigative journalism
Public administrator
Professor or lecturer
Lobbyist

Average salaries for Political Science graduates

Because there are so many different careers to choose from, the salary options in the field of political science are also extremely variable. The following are average salaries for political scientists around the world.

Country	Average salary in USD/year
USA	1,25,350 (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Australia	89,262 (Source: ERI Economic Research Institute)
Sweden	58,413 (Source: Salary Expert)
Canada	51,810 (Source: Pay Scale)
Germany	43,569 (Source: Pay Scale)
UK	32,789 (Source: Pay Scale)

Top 50 Universities in the world for Political Science based on ranking (Shanghai/QS/THE)

The following table includes a worldwide ranking of some of the best colleges for political science:

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
1	1	4	Harvard University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
2	7	3	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	4	5	Princeton University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
4	5	7	London School of Economics and Political Science	UK	Click Here	Click Here
5	14	22	New York University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
6	28	9	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here
7	13	15	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
8	8	11	Yale University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
9	3	1	University of Oxford	UK	Click Here	Click Here
10	10	6	University of California, Berkeley	USA	Click Here	Click Here
11	51-100	43	Aarhus University	Denmark	Click Here	Click Here
12	16	41	University of California, San Diego	USA	Click Here	Click Here
13	101-150	NA	Texas A&M University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
14	39	20	Duke University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
15	23	101–125	The George Washington University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
16	51-100	14	University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here
17	14	2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
18	19	10	University of Chicago	USA	Click Here	Click Here
19	26	17	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
20	151-200	126-150	Vanderbilt University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
21	51-100	30	The University of Texas at Austin	USA	Click Here	Click Here
22	101-150	39	The Ohio State University – Columbus	USA	Click Here	Click Here
23	101-150	16	University of Wisconsin – Madison	USA	Click Here	Click Here
24	43	35	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
25	12	83	Georgetown University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
26	51-100	59	University of Zurich	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
27	51-100	97	University of Gothenburg	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here
28	37	25	ETH Zurich	Switzerland	Click Here	Click Here
29	48	72	University of Essex	UK	Click Here	Click Here
30	42	13	University College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
31	17	70	King’s College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
32	51-100	51	University of Oslo	Norway	Click Here	Click Here
33	40	NA	European University Institute	Italy	Click Here	Click Here
34	101-150	24	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	USA	Click Here	Click Here
35	151-200	84	Washington University in St. Louis	USA	Click Here	Click Here
36	101-150	74	University of Konstanz	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
37	17	12	University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Click Here	Click Here
38	51-100	32	University of Mannheim	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
39	51-100	75	University of Warwick	UK	Click Here	Click Here
40	24	21	Cornell University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
41	NA	60	Michigan State University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
42	151-200		Pennsylvania State University – University Park	USA	Click Here	Click Here
43	33	42	University of Copenhagen	Denmark	Click Here	Click Here
44	101-150	26	University of Washington	USA	Click Here	Click Here
45	151-200	101-125	Dartmouth College	USA	Click Here	Click Here
46	NA	101-125	Emory University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
47	51-100	77	Uppsala University	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here
48	101-150	75	Stockholm University	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here
49	151-200	55	University of Maryland, College Park	USA	Click Here	Click Here
50	151-200	67	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in the USA for Political Science

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
1	1	4	Harvard University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
2	7	3	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	4	5	Princeton University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
5	14	22	New York University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
6	28	9	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in the UK for Political Science

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
4	5	7	London School of Economics and Political Science	UK	Click Here	Click Here
9	3	1	University of Oxford	UK	Click Here	Click Here
29	48	72	University of Essex	UK	Click Here	Click Here
30	42	13	University College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
31	17	70	King’s College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in Sweden for Political Science

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
27	51-100	97	University of Gothenburg	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here
47	51-100	77	Uppsala University	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here
48	101-150	75	Stockholm University	Sweden	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities in Germany for Political Science

Shanghai Ranking	QS Ranking	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelor Programs	Master Programs
36	101-150	74	University of Konstanz	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
38	51-100	32	University of Mannheim	Germany	Click Here	Click Here

Academic Requirements for studying Political Science

The following are the eligibility requirements for admission to a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the political sciences as given by the top-performing universities around the world.

Bachelor’s level

A high school diploma or equivalent with a GPA of 3.0
Transcripts
Good score in English language proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL (minimum score requirement varies from university to university)
Letter of Recommendation (LOR)
Statement of Purpose (SOP)
Valid passport

Master’s level

A GPA of 3.0 or more in bachelor’s degree in political science or a comparable field.
Academic transcripts
GRE score of 290 or above
Good score in English language proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL (minimum score requirement varies from university to university)
Letter of Recommendation (LOR)
Statement of Purpose (SOP)
Valid passport
Published research papers (preferable)
Work or internship experience (preferable)