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
Keith Gilyard
Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and African American Studies
Gilyard is a poet, scholar, and educator whose work explores African American expressive culture, popular culture, civic discourse, and education. A two-time recipient of an American Book Award, he has written, edited, or co-edited twenty books over the course of his career.
Sam Tenorio
Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Tenorio is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research explores Black political thought and practice, carceral geographies, and Black trans and trans of color critique. His first book, Jump: Black Anarchism and Antiblack Carcerality, examines Black anarchism and the modern carceral state through the history of enslaved people jumping from slave ships during the Middle Passage.
Ray Block
Brown-McCourtney Career Development Professor in the McCourtney Institute and Professor of Political Science and African American Studies
Block studies race, identity, civic engagement, and political participation. In summer 2026, he led a program that trained participants to study civic engagement, organizing, and democratic participation through community-engaged research, bringing academics and community organizations together to address problems and inform public policy.
Tyler Word
’26
Advertising and Public Relations, minors in Sports Studies and African American Studies
Wally Triplett Rotational Fellow with the Detroit Lions
During his time at Penn State, Tyler was involved in student organizations such as BLUEprint, Eminence Modeling Troupe, Minorities in Sports, and the Division of Undergraduate Studies Leadership Council, and worked as a Lead Marketing Intern for Penn State Athletics and Brand Marketing Associate for Fanatics.
Serenity Hanifah-Myers
’26
African American Studies and Political Science
Law Student
Passionate about creating meaningful change, Serenity found a strong sense of community while pursuing opportunities in mentorship, leadership and advocacy. During her time at Penn State, she was a congressional intern for Representative Dwight Evans and took an active role in community outreach programs.
Kenisha Brown
’25
Communication Arts and Sciences, African American Studies minor
Intern for the Black Legislative Caucus
Brown brought her interests in communication, public service, and leadership to a congressional internship in Washington, D.C., where she supported constituent services, communications, and legislative work. At Penn State, she served as president of the Student Black Caucus and interned with the Center for Black Digital Research.