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 2018–2019 to 2021-2022), for both political science majors and, for comparison, all Liberal Arts and Sciences majors:
Graduate Outcomes
| Total Occupied | Professionally Occupied | Employed | Further Education | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Science | 91% | 93% | 61% | 30% | 0% |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | 92% | 89% | 65% | 27% | 2% |
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