Undergraduate FAQ

How do I get honors in the Major?
Students whose cumulative grade point average at the end of their senior year is at least 3.0 for all courses and at least 3.4 for all courses counted toward the major may qualify for honors in the major. A candidate for honors must enroll in American Studies 050:495/496 (Honors in American Studies ) and complete a substantial independent research project, in either one or two semesters. At the end of the semester, all candidates for honors present work to a faculty committee. Whether a student receives honors, high honors, or highest honors is determined at this “defense” by an assessment of both written work and oral performance.  Please consult the American Studies Handbook for further information.

(It is really not as intimidating as it sounds. Imagine a conversation with a group of people very interested in the work you have done.)

How do I go about doing an honors essay?
The Department encourages all students whose grade point averages qualify them for honors to enroll in American Studies 050:495/6(Honors in American Studies ) and undertake an independent research project. Independent projects provide students with the opportunity to work closely with a faculty advisor on a project of the student’s own design. We advise students to approach a faculty member with a tentative topic, usually the semester before the research project is to be begun.

If you are unsure of your ideas, any faculty member in American Studies will help you structure a project and find an appropriate advisor for it. Rutgers is enormously rich in scholars who work on the Americas and the United States, and you need not feel you must confine yourself to the faculty in the American Studies department.

Once you have found a topic and an advisor, the two of you will work out a schedule for completion of various parts of the project. To help seniors complete projects in a timely fashion, a member of the core faculty in American Studies will run a bi-weekly seminar for students working on independent projects during the fall semester.

What do I need to do to gain credit for an internship?
Students have found internships to be intellectually rewarding. American Studies majors and minors have worked as interns in publishing, media, the music industry, political campaigns, public interest law, arts management, and non-profit environmental work.

To receive academic credit, you must have the approval of the department chair and a faculty advisor before you begin your internship. You cannot receive credit and be paid for your work. You must be supervised and evaluated by a faculty member, who will ask you to complete a project (a paper, a presentation) associated with your work as an intern. Students working as interns enroll in 050:390 (Special Problems in American Culture or 050:490 Advanced Problems in American Culture).

Can I use American Studies Courses as electives for the Major?
Any American Studies course and any course on the approved course list can be used to fulfill the requirements for the major. If you have questions about a course that is not on the approved course list, please contact the department.

How often should I come in for academic advising?
All students should consult with the departmental advisor before the start of each term or as early in the semester as possible. We also recommend that students sit down with a member of the American Studies faculty at least once each academic year. It can be difficult to find and maintain a focus in an interdisciplinary major, and a conversation with a faculty member working in the field can help you profit from the intellectual freedom a major like American Studies invites and take advantage of the great resources a research university like Rutgers offers.

Can I study abroad?
We actively encourage all majors to take advantage of opportunities to study or work in another country. Study abroad offers unique opportunities for intellectual and personal growth. We also encourage students to learn to speak and write a second language. Students who intend to be away for a semester or a year should consult with the departmental advisor and with a faculty member. We will work with you to make sure your requirements are met.

What can I do with a degree in American Studies?
Recent graduates have gone on to graduate school in history, American Studies, museum studies, communications, religion, geography, and library science, and education. They have enrolled in professional programs in law, business, and city planning. Several American Studies majors work in journalism, advertising, publicity, public relations, television, radio, and arts management, and in various positions in federal, state, and local government. Many teach social studies, English, and history in middle schools and high schools. Others work in libraries and museums and for variety of non-profit organizations. American Studies majors work for employers who value their analytic abilities, their discipline and creativity, and their ability to think and to write.

Many American Studies majors go on to law school. Because we ask that students read carefully and write clearly, American Studies is an excellent pre-law major.

What should I do if I want to go to graduate school in American Studies or American cultural studies?
It is probably never too early to prepare to apply to graduate school. Majors interested in graduate school should take the American literature and American history surveys as early as possible. This will give you time to develop expertise within the areas of American Studies that interest you most. If you plan to apply to a competitive graduate program, (and given the state of the academic job market, it is probably best to try for the most prestigious program within your reach) it is important that you present a coherent, well-balanced, and rigorous program of study. You will need to provide strong samples of your written work. You should also try to work with faculty members whose work has earned them national reputations. (Their letters simply carry more weight with graduate admissions committees.) Seek them out. Ask them to advise your independent studies and senior essays.

Ask for letters of recommendation well in advance of actual deadlines, and while your work is still fresh in a professor’s mind. (Remember that faculty members sometimes hold temporary appointments. They may leave Rutgers, retire, or die.) Give your recommenders copies of your resume, your written work for their course, and the “statement of purpose” you have written for your application. You can ask to have a copy of a letter sent to “Interfolio,” where it will be kept on file to be forwarded with all your applications.

Feel free to consult the faculty in American Studies. There are lists of graduate programs in American Studies, American culture, American civilization, cultural studies, ethnic studies, and women’s and gender studies in the American Studies office.