Rankings by major · 386 schools scored

Best colleges for political science & international relations

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for political science & international relations. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid.

The top political science & international relations schools: Harvard University, Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame.

Top 100 colleges for political science & international relations
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	98	Standout	164	9.7%	1.51×	4%
2	Georgetown University Washington, DC	94	Standout	555	31.1%	1.24×	13%
2	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	94	Standout	175	8.1%	1.49×	11%
2	Duke University Durham, NC	94	Standout	111	6%	1.40×	5%
5	Yale University New Haven, CT	92	Standout	173	12.2%	1.43×	5%
5	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	92	Standout	158	5.5%	1.42×	5%
5	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	92	Standout	57	4.5%	1.40×	4%
8	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	90	Standout	130	7.6%	1.62×	6%
8	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	90	Standout	116	8.1%	1.62×	8%
8	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	90	Standout	77	17.5%	1.41×	7%
8	Colby College Waterville, ME	90	Standout	66	12.5%	1.53×	7%
12	Tufts University Medford, MA	89	Standout	234	15.8%	1.19×	11%
12	Stanford University Stanford, CA	89	Standout	133	8.3%	1.37×	4%
12	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	89	Standout	96	14.6%	1.31×	11%
12	Davidson College Davidson, NC	89	Standout	67	14.4%	–	13%
12	Williams College Williamstown, MA	89	Standout	46	9%	1.40×	9%
17	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	88	Standout	95	9%	–	12%
18	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	87	Standout	369	7.6%	1.14×	17%
18	Brown University Providence, RI	87	Standout	195	11.6%	1.32×	5%
18	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	87	Standout	194	9.3%	1.13×	14%
18	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	87	Standout	134	7.7%	1.39×	4%
18	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	87	Standout	75	4.1%	1.43×	12%
18	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	87	Standout	62	18.8%	1.29×	9%
18	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	87	Standout	62	11%	1.15×	14%
18	Bates College Lewiston, ME	87	Standout	54	11.3%	1.28×	13%
18	Pomona College Claremont, CA	87	Standout	46	12.6%	–	7%
27	George Washington University Washington, DC	86	Standout	816	27.8%	1.19×	47%
27	American University Washington, DC	86	Standout	603	34%	1.13×	62%
27	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	86	Standout	247	3.1%	1.22×	16%
27	Columbia University New York, NY	86	Standout	232	10.5%	1.58×	5%
27	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	86	Standout	182	17.3%	1.68×	6%
27	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	86	Standout	113	10.1%	–	9%
33	Emory University Atlanta, GA	85	Standout	120	5.7%	1.40×	10%
33	Trinity College Hartford, CT	85	Standout	77	14.9%	1.49×	30%
33	Barnard College New York, NY	85	Standout	70	9.6%	1.23×	9%
33	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	85	Standout	70	15.8%	1.50×	14%
33	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	85	Standout	55	11.2%	1.20×	14%
38	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	84	Standout	134	6.5%	1.15×	7%
38	Lafayette College Easton, PA	84	Standout	96	13.8%	1.39×	31%
40	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	83	Standout	418	4.8%	1.19×	11%
40	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	83	Standout	158	6.8%	1.37×	16%
40	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	83	Standout	129	17%	1.39×	18%
40	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	83	Standout	120	16.1%	1.26×	14%
40	Wake Forest University Winston Salem, NC	83	Standout	119	9.2%	1.35×	22%
40	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	83	Standout	111	12.6%	1.46×	29%
40	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	83	Standout	84	10.5%	–	16%
47	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	82	Standout	653	7%	1.17×	9%
47	University of Washington Seattle, WA	82	Standout	389	4.5%	1.15×	39%
47	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	82	Standout	340	3.3%	1.20×	27%
47	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	82	Standout	311	7%	1.24×	17%
47	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	82	Standout	285	18%	1.22×	34%
47	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	82	Standout	68	14%	1.08×	45%
47	Rice University Houston, TX	82	Standout	28	2.7%	1.39×	8%
54	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	81	Standout	68	5.4%	1.32×	29%
54	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	81	Standout	64	9.8%	1.04×	19%
54	Smith College Northampton, MA	81	Standout	60	10.1%	1.09×	21%
54	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	81	Standout	40	10%	1.08×	15%
54	Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA	81	Standout	18	6.1%	–	29%
59	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	80	Standout	277	5.1%	1.23×	10%
59	New York University New York, NY	80	Standout	271	4%	1.28×	9%
59	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	80	Standout	235	6.9%	1.12×	46%
59	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	80	Standout	116	3.1%	1.51×	9%
59	Connecticut College New London, CT	80	Standout	58	13.7%	1.15×	37%
59	Furman University Greenville, SC	80	Standout	58	9.5%	1.18×	43%
59	Amherst College Amherst, MA	80	Standout	41	8.1%	1.01×	9%
66	Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA	79	Strong	41	7.5%	1.18×	28%
67	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	78	Strong	62	3.2%	–	48%
67	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	78	Strong	51	7.9%	1.12×	34%
67	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	78	Strong	47	8.1%	1.09×	26%
67	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	78	Strong	37	8.8%	0.92×	7%
67	Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI	78	Strong	36	11.3%	–	21%
72	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	77	Strong	321	3.8%	1.18×	45%
72	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA	77	Strong	77	12%	1.21×	40%
72	University of Richmond Richmond, VA	77	Strong	36	4.7%	1.08×	22%
72	United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO	77	Strong	25	2.5%	–	14%
72	Scripps College Claremont, CA	77	Strong	21	9.3%	–	38%
72	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	77	Strong	18	1.1%	–	11%
78	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	76	Strong	60	7%	1.17×	40%
78	Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO	76	Strong	47	9.4%	–	18%
78	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	76	Strong	41	8.9%	–	31%
78	Carleton College Northfield, MN	76	Strong	40	8.3%	0.85×	20%
78	Denison University Granville, OH	76	Strong	26	4.8%	–	17%
83	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	75	Strong	384	5.1%	1.05×	45%
83	Northeastern University Boston, MA	75	Strong	164	3.7%	1.15×	5%
83	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	75	Strong	96	6.9%	1.48×	48%
83	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	75	Strong	41	7.2%	1.09×	24%
83	Union College Schenectady, NY	75	Strong	32	6.6%	1.19×	44%
83	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	75	Strong	29	2.2%	1.21×	35%
89	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	74	Strong	388	4.4%	1.07×	29%
89	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	74	Strong	338	4.7%	1.15×	55%
89	Fordham University New York, NY	74	Strong	248	10.8%	1.17×	59%
89	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	74	Strong	122	7.3%	1.14×	45%
89	The Catholic University of America Washington, DC	74	Strong	64	8.3%	1.17×	83%
89	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	74	Strong	56	14.6%	1.09×	74%
89	Yeshiva University New York, NY	74	Strong	27	4.7%	–	56%
96	University of Georgia Athens, GA	73	Strong	487	5.9%	1.09×	38%
96	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	73	Strong	244	3.2%	1.00×	80%
96	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	73	Strong	236	2.7%	1.09×	85%
96	Villanova University Villanova, PA	73	Strong	115	6.5%	1.31×	28%
96	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	73	Strong	93	4.8%	1.07×	42%

286 more schools are on the full political science & international relations ranking.

How this ranking works

Updated October 13, 2026. Sources: early-career pay for graduates of each program, by field of study (College Scorecard), graduates per year in the major (IPEDS), undergraduate courses listed in each department's current catalog, and the student body's test scores. Inputs that are missing for a school are dropped and the rest reweighted; programs with fewer than five graduates a year are capped at 30. Scores are relative to the other schools covered, from 0 to 100.

To cite: prefrosh.ai, "Best colleges for political science & international relations," updated October 13, 2026, https://prefrosh.ai/majors/political-science. For a specific student's chances at these schools, use Chance me, which reads odds from the student's own high school's admissions chart.

See your odds of getting in · All rankings by major · Overall ranking

Best colleges for political science & international relations

How this ranking works

Rankings for other majors