Top Ranked Programs
Bowdoin College's program mix is rooted in the social sciences and humanities — a signature consistent with a small liberal-arts college where analytical and writing-intensive disciplines dominate degree output. Social Sciences accounts for 30% of graduates, followed by other STEM fields at 8% and Arts at 4%. Political Science is the largest program with 83 graduates, followed by Economics (78 graduates), Area Studies (47 graduates), Mathematics (43 graduates), and Computer Science (42 graduates). Across 22 programs serving roughly 604 students annually, 4 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. The strongest national ranks cluster in quantitative and policy-oriented subfields within the broader social-sciences concentration. Azimuth ranks Computer Science #71 among nonprofit four-year institutions for median earnings four years after enrollment, with 42 graduates earning $137,611. Azimuth ranks Economics #27 among nonprofit four-year institutions for median earnings four years after enrollment, with 78 graduates earning $121,983. Azimuth ranks Political Science #8 among nonprofit four-year institutions for median earnings four years after enrollment, with 83 graduates earning $89,253, and Azimuth ranks Area Studies #3 among nonprofit four-year institutions for median earnings four years after enrollment, with 47 graduates earning $75,966. These rankings reflect the depth of Bowdoin College's social-sciences core, where small cohorts produce consistently strong early-career outcomes [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/). Many of Bowdoin College's dominant programs — particularly Political Science, Area Studies, and Economics — are grad-school-dependent pathways where four-year earnings undercount lifetime trajectory because a meaningful share of graduates continue to graduate or professional school. Computer Science and Economics, by contrast, channel graduates more directly into finance, consulting, and policy roles where four-year earnings better reflect labor-market outcomes. The [supply-demand map](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how these fields align with national wage trends.