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Department of African American and Diaspora Studies

students sitting around small classroom in discussion

Career Outcomes

Your Success Story Is Waiting… Studying African American and diaspora studies provides students with cultural awareness, a global perspective, and a diversity of knowledge that can be applied to a wide range of careers. Learning to view complex and dynamic situations through various lenses and develop solutions is a useful skill in all professional fields and workplaces—as well as in graduate study. AADS majors are also well-equipped to apply lessons learned from the past to current and future scenarios.

Career Options

Students who majored in African American and diaspora studies have pursued a variety of career paths, including:

  • Education
  • Communication/media/journalism
  • Government or politics
  • Law
  • Business
  • Management
  • Medicine and health care
  • Non-profit
  • Advocacy
  • Social work

Alumni stories

  • Monyae Kerney BA’20, a triple major in African American and diaspora studies, psychology, and sociology, completed her master’s degree at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. She is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky.
  • Mecca Shabazz BA’19 majored in psychology and African American and diaspora studies and is currently on track to graduate from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s Law School with her JD.
  • Karlin Compton BA’18 is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northwestern University.
  • Akaninyene Ruffin BA’17 is currently an advanced practice registered nurse with Vanderbilt Primary Care.
  • Erin Logan BA’17 graduated from the School of Journalism at American University and currently works for the Los Angeles Times covering The White House.
  • Damon Cole BA’16 graduated with a J.D./MBA from Tulane University.
  • Yelana Sims BA’16 completed a master’s degree in women’s and gender studies at George Washington University and is currently a student in the Ph.D. program in Afro-American Studies at UMass-Amherst.
  • Sharon Zipporah Champion BA’15f is a registered nurse with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Erica Johnson BA’15 worked with Teach for America and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the graduate Department of Religion at Vanderbilt University.
  • Rebekah Nordine BA’15 was accepted into Teach for America in Alabama and now is the program director at Impact America.
  • Tarique Shotwell BA’15 was accepted into Teach for America in New Orleans and is currently the academic dean of social studies at the Akili Academy of New Orleans.
  • Niya McKray BA’14 completed her J.D. at Vanderbilt University Law School and is currently a data privacy associate at Locke Lord LLP.
  • Jennifer Moore BA’14 double-majored in African American and diaspora studies and political science. She completed her J.D. at Howard University School of Law.
  • Jessica Brown BA’12 graduated from the Peabody College of Education and Human Development in 2015.
  • Nate Marshall BA’12 double-majored in African American and diaspora studies and English and studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. He won a Fulbright prize in spring 2012 to serve as a teaching assistant in South Africa, but declined it to pursue a fully funded master’s in fine arts (MFA) at the University of Michigan. An accomplished poet, he is featured in the critically acclaimed documentary Louder Than a Bomb. He is currently an assistant professor at Colorado College.