Iowa State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services surveys alumni six months after graduation to track trends in placement. This table shows career outcomes at that point among Master’s degree recipients for the five most recent years of available data (from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021), for both Political Science majors and, for comparison, all Liberal Arts and Sciences majors:
| Total Occupied | Professionally Occupied | Employed | Further Education | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Science | 93% | 90% | 63% | 28% | 3% |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | 95% | 92% | 59% | 34% | 1% |
As the table shows, a very high proportion of Political Science Master’s-degree recipients are “occupied,” which encompasses being employed or continuing with further, typically doctoral, studies (or, for a small number, not seeking employment), and “professionally occupied,” meaning that for that the job for those implied required the degree earned. The Department is very proud of our students’ success, which attests to the quality of the education they receive and of the skills they acquire.
Recent employers of Political Science Master’s-degree graduates include:
- City of Coon Rapids
- City of Elkhart
- Iowa Department of Transportation
- Iowa State University
- Kaplan Higher Education Corporation
- Madison Area Technical College
- MWR InfoSecurity
- Nack, Richardson, and Nack
- Prishtina Institute for Political Studies
- State of Iowa
- United States Census Bureau
- United States Drug Enforcement Administration
- University of Arizona