Back to homepage American Studies Graduate Questionnaires       The strength of an American Studies degree is that it will prepare you for a broad range of professional career options as well as providing a solid academic foundation for future graduate study.  One advantage of an individualized course of study is that it gives students the freedom to tailor their courses to meet specific professional requirements while ensuring broad exposure to an array of academic disciplines.
 
    To find out where our students are working, and how their training in American Studies has impacted their lives, we recently conducted a survey of our graduates.  From the many responses we received, we found that our graduates agreed that the main advantage that their degree gave them was the ability to analyze situations and issues from multiple perspectives, write clearly and effectively, communicate, and research.   Some of their comments include:
 

• The advantages of an American Studies degree are numerous.  First, because it is a multi-disciplinary field, it allows me to approach problems with an open mind, willing to consider a wide range of solutions and able to come up varied ideas.  Second, I am able and qualified to fill many roles for the company I work for, including archaeologist, historian, folklorist, etc.  Third, it allows me to think outside the box of a single paradigm.  My interests and abilities are not so narrowly focused...I am better able to see the inter connectedness of events, places, people, etc.   S. Ellis

• At USU, I felt that the American Studies degree allowed me to take classes to explore my interest in folklore (especially music) while still maintaining a strong enough grounding in literature to continue study in that field at the Ph.D. level.  W. Mantooth

• I would argue that my training has given me thinking skills highly applicable to real-world settings, precisely because it wrestles with the real world.  Contrary to what some may think, American Studies is not a “removed” discipline -- like so many disciplines can be.  Unlike other fields, it has the unique ability to distinguish the critical context, that is, not what surrounds, but what is relevant . . . . it is the necessary preparation in skills that allows students to do anything they would want in a career.  D. Larsen

• The American Studies degree taught me how to think, how to take a broad look (big picture) perspective, and helped teach me how to adapt to different things and ideas (without compromising my own values).  I can say that the ability to adapt is probably the biggest/best attribute any person out of college can have.  It will help take them further and contribute to their success more than anything.  And I have to add that the degree will (should) teach them to write clearly and to the point.  Essential to success in any career.  R. Stewart

• The American Studies program provided me the opportunity for breadth of inquiry - forcing me to integrate ideas, processes and understandings from a number of disciplinary approaches.  By doing this, I am able to articulate ideas and concepts and to build strong frameworks for analysis.  It provided a methodology for assessing cultural, social, political and economic change.  G. Wilde

 
From the survey, we also learned that students who graduated with an undergraduate degree, now work in the following capacities:
 

• Director of the Cache Valley United Way
• Assistant Director of the Writing Center at USU
• English Teacher in both traditional and alternative schools
• Newspaper Journalist
• Coordinator of Marketing Services
• Public Relations
• Editing
• Executive Secretary to Vice President at the Black & Decker Corporate Headquarters
• Museum Work
• Commercial Real Estate Development
• Consultant with Wyoming State Department of Education

The American Studies degree is also an excellent “gateway degree” for graduate school and our students have continued their schooling in some of the best schools in the nation:

•  George Washington University, Ph.D. in American Literature
• University of Denver, History/Archives
• Brigham Young University, American Literature
• UCLA, Ph.D. in Linguistics
• Yale University,  Masters in Library Science, emphasis in Art Librarianship and Archives
• University of Kansas, Ph.D. American Studies
• University of North Texas, Ph.D. American Literature

Students who graduated with a Masters degree have also gone on to a variety of exciting and interesting careers:  

• Assistant Writing Center Director
• Director of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum
• Peace Corp Volunteer, Poland and Armenia  English Teacher at Shandong Teacher’s University in China
• Archaeology /Cultural Resource Management and Historical Preservation
• Coordinator for Revolving Tours/Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art
• Folk Arts Coordinator at the Utah Arts Council
• Western Folklife Center
• Technical Writer for the Space Dynamics Laboratory
• Education Director for Hallockville Museum Farm and Folklife Center
• Managing Editor of University of Iowa Press
• Curator of Collections at the Valdez Museum & Historical Archive
• Head of the Archives, Library & Documentation Department at the Guggenheim Museum

Many of our graduates expressed their willingness to talk to current or prospective American Studies Students.  If you would like more detailed information about careers or information on how to get a hold of our graduates, please contact Jana Kay Lunstad, the Undergraduate Advisor, at jlunstad@english.usu.edu.