About

Our diverse signing community is changing the world!

Gallaudet University is a world-class institution with a rich history of transformation and impact. For more than 150 years, Gallaudet has been the political, social, and economic engine of the signing community.

Gallaudet is powerfully showing the value of deaf people across the spectrum of identities.

Here, being deaf is not something to overcome, but a process of understanding oneself, building connections within and beyond the signing and deaf community. By extension, our campus is a place where deaf individuals will find affirmative and positive acceptance of who they are, and all they have to offer the world.

Gallaudet is a place where all things are possible, where our community members can Connect. Discover. Influence.

Gallaudet is a global agent of change.

Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet crossed the Atlantic from Paris, France, in 1816 to open the country’s first school for the deaf. In 1864, with the support of Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, they extended their vision with Gallaudet University.

Gallaudet became a beacon for visual learning, visual language, social justice, and full rights for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Since then, we have proceeded to become the Gallaudet University that even President Abraham Lincoln could not have imagined.

Today, Gallaudet is the go-to source on the deaf and signing community — a rich source of history, knowledge, achievement, and inspiration. But we are even more than that. Gallaudet is a global agent of change— a hub of the signing ecosystem, preparing students to flourish, and helping society value and appreciate all that deaf people have to offer.

Our Gallaudet community hails from all 50 states and nearly 100 countries. We have 23,000 alumni worldwide. We’re a university that teaches and transforms unlike anywhere else.

Our Promise

There is no other place like Gallaudet on the planet. See how Gallaudet is an inclusive, supportive, and academically outstanding environment that teaches and transforms students like no other.

Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Gallaudet maintains a proud tradition of research and scholarly activity and prepares its graduates for career opportunities in a highly competitive, technological, and rapidly changing world.

Gallaudet University will build upon its rich history as the world’s premier institution of higher education serving deaf and hard of hearing people, to become the university of choice for the most qualified, diverse group of deaf and hard of hearing students in the world, as well as hearing students pursuing careers related to deaf and hard of hearing people. Gallaudet will empower its graduates with the knowledge and practical skills vital to achieving personal and professional success in the changing local and global communities in which they live and work. Gallaudet will also strive to become the leading international resource for research, innovation, and outreach related to deaf and hard of hearing people.

Gallaudet will achieve these outcomes through:

A bilingual learning environment featuring ASL and English, providing full access to learning and communication for all students;
A commitment to excellence in learning and student service;
A world-class campus in the nation’s capital;
The creation of a virtual campus that expands Gallaudet’s reach to a broader audience of visual learners; and
An environment in which research can grow, develop, and improve the lives and knowledge of all deaf and hard of hearing people worldwide.

To achieve its vision, Gallaudet University commits to three priorities for our students and the entire university community:

Extraordinary learning and academic excellence across the lifespan
Knowledge creation and discovery
Signing ecosystems and career success

The Gallaudet Credo

Gallaudet’s vision statement expresses what the University aspires to become and achieve as the world’s premier academic institution for deaf and hard of hearing people. Implicit in our vision are core values that serve as guiding principles for the way members of the campus community teach, study, work, and live. The Gallaudet credo identifies and realizes these core values.

The Gallaudet campus community includes students, faculty, teachers, and staff, all of whom share certain common goals and values that we all believe enrich our academic environment. The community’s primary goal is to prepare students to be informed, literate, productive, and responsible citizens. In pursuit of this goal, community members pledge to uphold the following values:

We believe that education

We believe that education is a dominant influence on our lives and recognize that learning is a lifelong quest. Therefore, we will practice academic and personal integrity and work to create a positive and welcoming environment that is open to the free exchange of ideas among members of our community.

We believe that every person

We believe that every person should be treated with civility and that our community is strengthened by the broad diversity of its members. Therefore, we will promote and applaud behaviors that support the dignity of individuals and groups and are respectful of others’ opinions. We will especially discourage behaviors and attitudes that disrespect the diversity of individuals and groups for any reason, including religion, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, hearing status, or language and communication preference.

We believe that as members of the Gallaudet community

We are the recipients of a proud and rich heritage, and are contributors to and benefactors of our institution’s bright future. Therefore, we will strive to bring credit to our community and ensure that the institution flourishes and succeeds in its mission.

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Our diverse signing community is changing the world!

Gallaudet is powerfully showing the value of deaf people across the spectrum of identities.

Gallaudet is a global agent of change.

Our Promise

The Gallaudet Credo

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