Careers and Outcomes
Communication is a flexible major, giving our students great flexibility in their career choices.
Communication is a major that helps students understand the world they live in, taking a critical eye to the constant flow of messages that surround us — messages from the news media, social media, advertising and marketing, governments and non-profits, and more.
While building students’ analytic and writing skills, Communication asks them to examine how ideas flow from media to audiences, from corporations to consumers, from governments to citizens and vice-versa. These critical thinking skills can be applied to a wide variety of careers, and indeed our students find success in many different arenas.
The most popular areas for employment immediately following graduation include media/journalism/entertainment, marketing/advertising/public relations, consulting, retail/wholesale, consumer products, education, and nonprofit work. Many of our graduates also continue on to graduate school in law, business, the social sciences, and the humanities.
The following table contains a sampling of the kinds of opportunities recent Comm majors have gone on to pursue post-graduation:
| Careers | Graduate Schools |
|---|---|
| ABC News, Senior Research Analyst Broadcast Media Arden Theatre, Apprentice Barclays, Brand & Marketing Bloomingdale's, Assistant Buyer CBS News, Digital Associate / Senior Social Media Producer Center for American Progress, Research Assistant Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Communications and Marketing Associate CNBC, Reporter DreamWorks TV, Production Coordinator Edelman, Associate Analyst Environmental Protection Agency, Special Assistant Empire State Realty Trust, Public Relations Assistant ESPN, Digital Sales Planner Facebook, Client Solutions Manager; Management Consulting Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, General Production and Post-Production Glaxo Smith Kline, Global Communications Manager Google/YouTube, Associate Product Marketing Manager IBM, Consultant Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Research Analyst Lionsgate, Junior Research Analyst Lippincott, Brand Strategy Consultant Maison MKRT, Digital Strategy Analyst McKinsey & Co., Business Analyst MSNBC, Production Assistant NBC News, Associate White House Producer NBC Sports Groups, Olympics Researcher Nielsen, Associate, Emerging Leaders Program NYC Mayor's Office for International Affairs, Digital Director & Assistant Press Secretary Partners in Health, Communications Coordinator PBS, Production and Operations Assistant Pepsi, Senior Marketing Analyst Republican National Committee, State Data Coordinator for New Hampshire Smerconish.com, Managing Editor Tennessee State Government, Governor's Office Management Fellow Tom Wolf for Governor, Press Assistant Unilever, Marketing Specialist Urban Justice Center, Housing Advocate USA Today, Reporting Fellow U.S. Department of Justice, Paralegal U.S. Department of Energy, Special Advisor to the Chief of Staff for Public Policy Viacom, Analyst, Digital Revenue Broadcast Media Warren for President, Field Organizer Washington Post, Multiplatform Editor | Adelphi University, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology ArtistYear Fellowship Columbia Journalism School, M.A., Documentary Specialization Emory University, M.A., Marketing Harvard University, M.A., Technology Innovation and Education New York University, J.D. New York University, M.A., Producing New York University, M.P.A., Public & Nonprofit Management & Policy Stanford Center on Poverty & Inequality, Research Fellowship Stanford University, M.A., Management Science and Engineering Teach for America Thouron Fellowships (Various Universities, UK) University of Amsterdam, M.A., Media and Digital Culture University of Chicago, Ph.D. Political Science University of Edinburgh, M.A., Policy Studies University of Exeter/London Film School, M.A., International Film Business University of Pennsylvania, M.A., Nonprofit Leadership University of Pennsylvania, J.D. University of Pennsylvania, M.A., Social Policy University of Pennsylvania, M.D., Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, M.S., Education University of Pennsylvania, Presidential Engagement Prize, Project HOPE Washington University St. Louis, M.A., Film & Media Studies |
Alumni Graduation Speakers
Each year, we bring back to campus a distinguished Comm major alumnus to speak at our graduation ceremony. Hear them reflect on their Comm majors and their advice to new graduates.
Laura Petro (C’16), Vice President of Brand and Fan Experience at Gotham FC, delivered the 2026 commencement address for Annenberg's Communication Major Graduation Ceremony.
David Eisenhower, J.D., Director of Annenberg's Institute for Public Service, delivered the 2024 commencement address for Annenberg's Communication Major Graduation Ceremony.
Political communications expert Lauren Hitt (C'13) delivered the 2023 commencement address for Annenberg's Communication Major Graduation Ceremony.
Author and journalist Jo Piazza (C'02) delivered the commencement address at our 2022 undergraduate graduation ceremony.
Michigan State University Assistant Professor Fashina Aladé (C'11) delivered the alumni address during our 2021 virtual commencement ceremony.
Due to the pandemic, filmmaker Katie Koeblitz (C'09) spoke to our 2020 graduates from her home in Los Angeles.
In 2019, Dylan Hewitt (C'14, G'15), who has worked in politics since graduation, spoke to our graduating seniors.
Washington Post journalist Ashley Parker (C'05), who covers the White House, spoke to our 2018 graduates.
Our 2017 graduates heard from Seth Grossman (C'01), then chief of staff to the President of the University of California.
Brain Pickings founder Maria Popova (C'07) was our 2016 speaker.
In Their Own Words
In a series of Q&As, we spoke with some of our alumni, who represent a broad array of careers and class years.
Mika Rao (C'96)
Managing Director of Regional Communications & Public Affairs, Teach For America
Jabari Evans (C'04)
Recording Artist and Doctoral Student
Yael Krigman (C'02)
Owner of Baked By Yael
Caren Osten Gerszberg (C'86)
Life Coach and Freelance Journalist
Lisa Serad (C'07)
Head of Pet Therapy, CHOP
Adriana Massara (C'10)
Training and Outreach Manager, How I Decide
Kevin Esteves (C'12)
Senior Director of Digital Content Strategy, NBA
Margot Amelia (C'80)
Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, National Aquarium
Free Rein to Explore
"Studying Communications at Penn is an incredible path for students whose interdisciplinary interests don’t necessarily fit within the confines of other fields. This major allows students to study human interaction through a myriad of perspectives, ranging from constitutional law to computational text analysis and more. Majoring in Communications gave me free rein to explore, without which I never would have discovered my interests in data visualization and tech policy." —Anna Callahan C'21, Brunswick, ME