There is no better place to study American Sign Language than Gallaudet, the world's expert on ASL. We were the premier educational institution to identify ASL as a true and independent language.

Immerse Yourself in ASL

Order your morning coffee, participate in a class discussion, chat with your roommate and then finish your essay for the Deaf Studies Digital Journal-all in ASL. By studying and living at the world's only bilingual ASL and English university, you will become fluent in ASL and gain firsthand insight into the global deaf and hard of hearing community.

Complement your studies with an internship or by collaborating on faculty research. Our well-published faculty are excellent scholars as well as teachers.

Our ASL program will help you gain a strong foundation in language, teaching and Deaf Culture to prepare for a career in deaf education, linguistics, interpretation, sociology or social work.

See list of all Gallaudet majors

Other Gallaudet Degrees in This Field

Keep reading to learn more about the American Sign Language program and career outcomes.

Courses and Degree Requirements

See the academic catalog for requirements for declaring a major.

Apply Your Learning

Help create interactive, bilingual storybook apps or other learning tools in American Sign Language through Gallaudet's Motion Light Lab (ML2). The lab was recently featured in an NPR article

Career Outcomes

All of Gallaudet's recent ASL and deaf studies majors are employed (44 percent) or in graduate school (56 percent) within one year of graduation. Learn more about alumni of the Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies.

Training and Job Outlook

Interpreter positions require a bachelor's degree. Employment is projected to grow 46 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations. Learn more.

Social workers need at least a bachelor's degree in social work, and clinical positions require a master's degree. Employment is projected to grow 19 percent, faster than average. Learn more.

Employment in education and museum work requires at least a bachelor's degree and is expected to grow about as fast as average. Learn more.

Resources

Students in the department have access to state-of-the-art equipment for coursework, field research and data analysis in our Multimedia Lab. In addition, the Gallaudet University Archives boasts the world's largest collection of historical artifacts, documents and visual materials about deaf people. Learn more about our extensive resources for students and faculty.