My Background....

Graduate School
1

<p>I have finally looked through my grad/professional school brochures. I have made a list of things that interest me too. I know I need to do some narrowing down, but I thought you could give me advice and ideas.</p>

<ul>
<li>American Studies (African-American and American history, urban history, possibly the social sciences in anthropology and sociology)</li>
<li>Public Policy (social policy, urban policy, employment, community development, civil rights, race/class/gender, education)</li>
<li>Teaching (Social Studies concentration) -- if i want to pursue a k-12 career</li>
<li>Urban and Regional Planning Masters (I'm fascinated with cities...)</li>
<li>Museum Studies (certificate -- I love museums....)</li>
</ul>

<p>My majors are Social Policy and African American Studies.</p>

2

<p>What are your career goals? My advice is to contact alumni in the careers/areas you are considering and see what they think of careers in that area. A graduate degree in American studies is pretty useless unless you want to become an academic. A public policy/urban studies degree would provide more options in terms of government/non profit work.</p>

3

<p>How are job prospects in Ph.D in American studies? Of all the academic fields out there, my greatest strength is history (20th century American and African-American history). </p>

<p>Yes, I'm considering a Masters in Public Policy since I have interests in social policy, education, social welfare and urban policy.</p>

<p>Do you know how useful are Masters of Urban and Regional Planning are???</p>

4

<p>The job market in American studies is not impossible but very tight. I'd personally recommend a PhD in history rather than American studies because more universities have jobs in history. I don't know as much about a masters of urban and regional planning, but I'd image you a few different career options. Most masters programs probably would prefer you work a year or two before returning to school. I am a grad student in history, if you want more information about graduate school send me a PM.</p>