Undergraduate certificate · Whitewater, Wisconsin

Is Political Science and Government at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 1.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $52,748; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $16,465; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $15k (likely $15k – $19k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $14k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.6 years (likely 0.9–4.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $80k (likely −$9k – $185k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $234k (likely $46k – $458k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 56%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26