Some alums work in advertising and public relations. She now teaches Religion at Hamline University. American Studies is a major for people who want to chart their own course through the wilds of American culture. Unlike many majors, which prescribe sequences of courses for students, American Studies is fairly free-form. It allows a student who likes American art to create a concentration that reflects his interests, while permitting the student with interests in economics to incorporate those interests in her major.
Students can use both internships and independent studies as part of the major.
Your American history course can count both for a History major and for the American Studies major. So it's both easy and interesting to double major in American Studies. Because of the range of options in American Studies, it's also a good way to fulfill General Education requirements, because the courses which count for American Studies may also count for GEC credit. Obviously, most International Studies courses won't count for American Studies. Jim Farrell, St. Olaf's director of American Studies, first got interested in the field because of a year he spent in Italy.