For Accessible Web Version of American Studies
Is American Studies Right for You?
As a student in the department of American Studies at CSU Fullerton you'll learn about America’s culture in the past and present, including its ideas, popular media, and diversity. Here you will belong to a community of engaged students and excellent faculty who know and guide you as you become a better writer, reader, interpreter of evidence, and critical thinker.
What Can I Do With a Degree in American Studies?
The education you receive here will prepare you with the critical and portable skills you'll need for the future, in which the average person changes careers three times. Our alumni go on to work in a variety of fields here and abroad, including business, public relations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, museums, and entertainment. Many of our majors opt to earn a "single subject credential" to become social studies teachers in middle or high school, while others continue their educations, earning an M.A. in our own program or elsewhere, or attending Ph.D. programs to teach in community colleges and universities.
Learn More About a Degree in American Studies
We encourage you to learn more, and find out if a Major or Minor in American Studies is right for you! Visit out website or call to speak to an American Studies adviser who can answer all of your questions, and help lead you down the right path.
Talk to an Adviser
- Dr. Terri Snyder: snyder@fullerton.edu
- Or call: 657 278 2441
American Studies Alumni Feature
Anita Walker
Associate Manager, Internal Global Communications
"I am honored to work with my colleagues in Europe and Asia. Having an awareness of ethnocentrism has made me a much better partner in global communications."
Since graduation, Anita has been working as an Associate Manager in Internal Global Communications for Blizzard Entertainment, a global video game company responsible for the hit games, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone.
Anita says that her degree in American Studies prepared her incredibly well for working in a culture industry. She credits her education with giving her the ability to plan, develop strategies, and write communications that will reach an audience who work at the crossroads of gamer culture and geek culture, both of which are part of culturally-imagined communities.
Brandon Kyle Goco
Special Events Coordinator, Directors Guild of America
"My B.A. in American Studies was not only instrumental in getting me my job, but maintaining it as well."
Brandon was an undeclared freshman when he took an AMST introductory course as a GE, but it wasn't until his junior year that he finally decided to declare American Studies his major - a decision he describes as the best he could have ever made.
Now an alum working for the communications department at the Directors Guild of American Brandon claims "I cannot underrate the fact that my B.A. in American Studies was not only instrumental in getting me my job, but maintaining it as well."
As he explains it, the film and TV industries are both simultaneously diverse and in need of diversity - adding "having clarity of history and of culture could not be more important."
Kelly Stratford Crespo
English Teacher - Downey high School & MA, English
"American Studies made me a stronger teacher, student, reader, writer, and thinker."
As a double major (American Studies and English), Kelly says that American Studies not only complemented and deepened her reading and writing in her English courses - but also gave her a rich bank of cultural contexts and complexities that she continues to access today, when teaching American Literature and non-fiction units at the high school level.
In addition to teaching, Kelly is currently completing her Master's in English. She believes that her degree in American Studies has been integral as she credits it with teaching her the research theories and methods necessary for completing for her master's project.
Contact Information
- 657 278 2441
- Dr. Terri Snyder: snyder@fullerton.edu
About Our College and Campus
The Department of American Studies is a part of the larger College of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU, Fullerton. H&SS offers its students more than 20 unique degree programs ideal for students who plan to continue their studies in graduate programs, or who want to work in areas such as education, law, politics, business, psychology, public administration, and more.
