As an AFAM major, you’ll gain essential cross-cultural communication skills, sharpen your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and enhance your attention to detail and organizational acumen. You’ll also develop strong research, analytical, adaptability, and teamwork skills—highly transferable to a wide range of careers.
If you’re considering this major, explore the opportunities in continuing education, industries, job titles, and employers where these skills are in demand.
Continuing Education
- Law school
- Graduate school to study public policy
Job Titles
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator
- Community Engagement Director
- Human Rights Officer
- Political Analyst
- Journalist
- Consultant
- Professor
- Lawyer
Industries
- AmeriCorps
- Consulting
- Education (K-12)
- Management
- Service (Teach for America)
Employers
- Boeing
- Shell
- Universities
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- Urban Institute
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of State
- City of Philadelphia
Alumni Spotlights
Brett King
’81
Speech Communications major
,
African American Studies minor
Producer, Creative Consultant, and DEI Executive
Skilled in TV and film production, Brett’s experiences include roles at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Television Studios, 20th Century Fox, BET, The WB, SNL, and more. Brett most recently led Sony’s creative efforts in diversity and inclusion for nearly a decade before parting ways to create his own consulting agency, Non LP B-Side, in Los Angeles, California.
Brian Davis
’18
African American Studies
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The Harker School
Brian is passionate about creating a world of critical thinkers and racial justice advocates. Brian says his liberal arts education greatly influenced his social justice work, and he credits the Department of African American Studies for equipping him with skills that allowed him to grow and succeed.
“The department curriculum and professors gave me a space to find my voice and how I related to the world, and the critical lens to examine the issues affecting society. The program was so holistic and built a strong student community. The classroom conversations were so transformative—I used to hate when class was over.”
Adriana Lacy
’18
African American Studies
,
Journalism
Journalist, Entrepreneur, and Educator
Adriana is an award-winning journalist and consultant who was a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. She is the founder and president of Adriana Lacy Consulting, a full-service digital consulting firm helping publishers and businesses grow their digital audiences, and the founder of Journalism Mentors, a website dedicated to advancing early-career journalists through mentoring and paid media opportunities. In addition, she is an adjunct lecturer at Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Awaly Diallo
’20
African American Studies
,
Sociology
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator, Crowell & Moring
At Penn State, Awaly was a student leader and activist interested in social justice and working in civil rights law.
“Immerse yourself in everything the College of the Liberal Arts has to offer because there are so many opportunities to explore your purpose and create your own journey,” said the Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar alumna. “It is okay to need help or guidance, and there are a multitude of resources that can lead you in the right path.”
Nyla Holland
’21
African American Studies
,
Political Science
’22g
Public Policy
Policy Analyst, Research to Action Lab, Urban Institute
Nyla is passionate about education and environmental policy, particularly in areas of school climate and environmental justice. Before joining Urban Institute, Nyla interned at Children and Screens, where she advocated for federal legislation addressing the impact of technology on adolescents. Concurrently, she helped create an environmental justice mapping tool of Pennsylvania as a part of her internship at the Penn State Sustainability Institute.