Learning by Doing

The American Studies program encourages you to test your career goals through internships, and it requires an individual research project to help you broaden your knowledge, deepen your research skills and explore your particular interests.

During the school year and over summers, internships are available with various government agencies, businesses and non-profit organizations. Summer internships and study programs can be arranged throughout the country to fit your interests. And of course - back on campus - there are numerous ways to learn by doing, starting with most of our courses, which link theoretical, classroom and book learning with experiential activities.

Student-Faculty Collaboration

In addition to regular coursework, the department offers a number of opportunities for student-faculty collaboration, including:

  • the teaching apprenticeship
  • the research collaboration course
  • student research in science and religion "internal internships," and
  • Hague-Critoph Fund

Recently - for her senior research on "Andrew Jackson, Indian Dad" - Karen Winkle used money from the Hague-Critoph Fund to travel to Jackson's home (the Hermitage), to research in the archives about Jackson's adopted Native American son, Lakota.