Career Preparation

Agility + applicable skills

Find your voice in American Studies. As you pursue topics that are of vital interest, you will gain the ability to represent those causes that matter to you. You will hone your powers of persuasion, learn how to bring depth to a topic, and practice your communication skills across the mediums of writing and visual presentation.

Our department gives you the opportunity to be innovative and experimental in pursuing your interests. We believe that this is in itself an excellent preparation for the challenges of national citizenship in an interconnected, increasingly internationalist world.

The skills you develop with an American Studies degree are applicable across a wide range of professions, including those in politics, business, education, art, media, law, public policy, and the health sciences. Our students enter all of these fields and more, bringing with them the immeasurable value of liberal arts training and education.

Check out the career paths of some of our alumni

Career preparation throughout your college years

Indiana University offers resources to help you with career preparation from the first day you arrive on campus. We encourage you to pursue your deepest interests and strongest passions, identifying the ways those can enable you to create the life you want to sustain after graduation.

Think of career preparation as another way to conduct research—in this case, the work is personal, as it has to do with your own preferences and ambitions.

Learn about career advising  Learn about internships