Mission Statement

Gallaudet University's Department of ASL and Deaf Studies is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive, challenging, and productive ASL and Deaf Studies curriculum anywhere in the world. Expert faculty will guide students to explore the complexities of Deaf communities and their signed languages through interdisciplinary approaches.

Department Program Description

Gallaudet University is irrefutably the world's expert on American Sign Language and deaf studies. Having a rich history of being a leader in deaf education for over a hundred years, as well as being the premier educational institution that identified ASL as a true and independent language, it is clear that if you're interested in studying either ASL or the study of deaf people and deaf communities, Gallaudet University is the place.

The Department of ASL and Deaf Studies gives students an opportunity to acquire an understanding of the deaf community as a part of human diversity. The courses are designed to prepare students to spend their professional or social lives after graduation, in the deaf community or, to make further contributions in a chosen academic discipline.

The Department of ASL and Deaf Studies offers the following undergraduate programs:

• B.A. in American Sign Language
• B.A. in Deaf Studies
• Minor in American Sign Language
• Minor in Deaf Studies

The Department of ASL and Deaf Studies offers the following graduate programs:

• M.A. in Deaf Studies with a concentration in Cultural Studies
• M.A. in Sign Language Teaching

Deaf Studies MA Program Mission Statement

The Department of ASL and Deaf Studies offers the world's premiere graduate program in Deaf Studies. Our students become members of a vibrant learning community dedicated to the critique and production of knowledge relating to Deaf communities and their sign languages.

• The Cultural Studies Concentration challenges students to develop methods of inquiry, research and critique that explore the wide-ranging implications of Deaf ways-of-being.

Sign Language Teaching MA Program Mission Statement

The Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies offers a M.A. degree in Sign Language Teaching. Students will be introduced to key theoretical and methodological issues involved in sign language instruction including curriculum development, assessment, and incorporating Deaf culture into the language curriculum. Students will undertake a teaching practicum and internship under the supervision of a cooperating teacher. An electronic portfolio is required at the completion of the program, representing the culmination of the student's academic performance