Alumni Outcomes
American Studies alumni pursue a variety of career paths, including academia, public history, public service, non-profit management, preservation and urban planning. Some of our graduates have launched their own businesses, others are artists and writers; others teach at world-class academic institutions.
Our PhD Alumni Include:
- Kevin Strait, PhD '10, and Paul Gardullo, PhD '06, curators at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Zaynab Quadri, PhD '22 postdoctoral fellow in international security studies at the Mershon Center at Ohio State University
- Thomas Simsarian Dolan, PhD '21, ACLS Emerging Voices Fellow, Emory University Department of Middle Eastern and South African Studies
- Megan Black, PhD '15, Associate Professor of History at MIT
- Ramzi Fawaz, PhD '12, Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin.
Our MA Alumni Include:
- Sam Citarella, MA '18, Assistant Archivist, Tiffany & Co.
- Libby Ellsworth-Kasch, BA '08 and MA '14, Civil Rights and Criminal Defense attorney, and a political activist in Wisconsin
- Amanda Figueroa, MA '16, American Studies PhD student at Harvard University; co-founder, Brown Art Ink; Community Director at Curationist
- Maggie Goddard, MA '14, PhD Brown University 2022, Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Chelsea Halling-Nye, MA '18, Program Assistant, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Betsy May-Salazar, MA ’91, chief operating officer of the National Building Museum
- Teng (Monica) Xu, MA '14, Multimedia Journalist, Voice of America
Our BA Alumni Include:
- Clara Hanson, BA '12, data scientist for Spotify
- Mark Kates, BA ’82, has been a central figure in the genre of alternative music since before it even had a name. He has helped launch the careers of countless legendary bands from Nirvana to the Beastie Boys
- Amy Kurland, BA ’77, founder of the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee
- Katie Doland Morey, BA '08, Manager, International Post at The Walt Disney Studios
- Amy Sussman, BA '98, Staff Photographer Getty Images
- Jason Steinhauer, BA '02, author of the bestselling History, Disrupted and host of the podcast History Club. He is the founder and CEO of the History Communication Institute
Recent Undergraduate Alumni Employers
- American Psychological Association
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Apple
- Bluebird Cafe
- Clark Construction Group
- Colorado Charter School Institute
- Deloitte
- Discovery Communications
- FischTank PR
- The George Washington University
- KIPP DC Public Schools
- Lionsgate
- M&T Bank
- ManTech International Corporation
- NASA
- National Geographic Channel
- New York Jewish Community Center
- Northwell Health
- RedPeg Marketing
- Time
- United American Costumes
- Universal Student Fund
- Washington Bach Consort
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- WME Entertainment
- Yelp
- YMCA
More Undergraduate Alumni Outcomes
Recent Graduate Alumni Employers
- Boston University
- Emory University
- Gensler
- The George Washington University
- George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- Georgia Southern University
- Journal of Popular Music Studies
- London School of Economics
- The Louis Berger Group
- The Mount Vernon Ladies Association
- National Park Service
- Rock and Roll Forever Foundation
- Setsunan University
- Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Terra Foundation for American Art
- Tufts University
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of Guelph
- U.S. Courts
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Library of Congress
- Voice of America
- WETA-TV
PhD Alumni Job Placement Data
- 2021
-
Thomas Dolan
- Fullbright Teaching Scholar, The American University in Cairo
Vyta Pivo
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows at the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
- 2020
-
Sara Awartani
- Global American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard University
Michael Horka
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Global and Intercultural Studies, Miami University
- 2019
-
Craig Allen
- Postdoctoral Fellow/Assistant Director in Public Humanities at NYU
Kimberly Probolus
- Leading Edge fellow, American Council of Learned Societies
- 2018
-
Lindsay Davis
- Assistant Teaching Professor of History & Co-Director of Gender Sexuality and Women's Studies Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Carol Lautier-Woodley
- Director, Movement Building at Demos
Justin Mann
- Assistant Professor of English, Northwestern University
- 2017
-
Kimberly Pendleton
- CEO at Uncover
Rahima Schwenkbeck
- Director of Media, The Policy Studies Organization
- 2016
-
Ashley Brown
- Assistant Professor & Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Meghan Drury
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pacific Northwest College of Art & Portland State University
Kathryn Kein
- Lecturer in the Gender,Women’s and Sexuality Studies Department - UMBC
Scott Larson
- Lecturer IV, American Culture Undergraduate Advisor, University of Michigan
Shannon Davies Mancus
- Teaching Associate Professor, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, Colorado School of Mines
Patrick Nugent
- Deputy Director for the Starr Center, Lecturer in History, Washington College
Katie Schank
- Post Doctoral Teaching Fellow, Institute for Liberal Arts, Emory University
- 2015
-
Megan Black
- Associate Professor of History at MIT
Joseph Malherek
- Botstiber Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University
- 2014
-
Emily Dufton
- Co-Founder and Lead Writer, Takoma Writers, LLC
Matt Kohlstedt
- Associate Director of Admissions and Research, University of Wisconsin- Madison
Steve Lorenz
- Archivist, Rock Creek Woods Historic District
Kym Rice
- Associate Professor, Museum Studies Program, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University
MA Alumni Job Placement Data
- 2021
-
Courtney Mason
- Engagement Manager, European Union Policy and Outreach Partnership
- 2020
-
Brendan Hornbostel
- PhD student, GW History Department
Harry Lewis
- Event Manager, Andy Kim for Congress
Shannon Papin
- Senior Architectual Historian, Environmental Science Associates
- 2019
-
Jasmine Cannon
- PhD student, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University & Pope House Museum Manager (Parks, Recreation and Cultural resources Departent) City of Raleigh Museum
Olivia Sayah
- Public Programs Coordinator, Massachusettes Historical Society
- 2018
-
Sam Citarella
- Corporate Assistant Archivist at NYSE
Chelsea Halling-Nye
- Program Assistant, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Rebekah Turnmire
- PhD Student at the University of South Carolina in History
- 2017
-
Kate Kronau
- Historic Preservation Associate at Hill Studio
Will Near
- Manager of Website Administration at City Year
Maria Willhoit
- Senior Program Coordinator, Supplemental Instruction & Honors, Tulane University
- 2016
-
Amanda Figueroa
- AMST PhD student at Harvard University, Coordinator of Experimental Practice, MIT Museum
Brady Forrest
- Adjunct Faculty, Women’s and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University
Ravon Ruffin
- Program and Communications Manager, NEW INC at New Museum of Contemporary Art
- 2015
-
Lindsay Brayton
- Marketing and Communications Manager, Film at Brooklyn Academy of Music
Erin Sexton Mashni
- Digital Archives Consultant at Kalamazoo Valley Museum
Caroline Spurry
- Archetictural Historian at George Washington's Mount Vernon
- 2014
-
Erin Howe
- Lead Tax Credits & Senior Project Manager at EHT Traceries
Teng Xu
- Multimedia Journalist, Voice of America
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