Students majoring in other fields will find that the development of American Sign Language skills and the ability to communicate with deaf people can significantly increase their marketability and career options upon graduation.

The minor in ASL Studies will provide students with an opportunity to master American Sign Language at a communicative level and have a broad understanding of the culture of the Deaf community.

Students will become familiar with resources available to them related to the Deaf community, such as interpreter referral services and video relay services, and will be able to utilize those services in their own professions. Students will have a clear sense of how American Sign Language and knowledge of the Deaf community apply to their major.

As a result of successfully completing program requirements, students should be able to:

• understand the cultural foundations of the field of ASL studies;
• recognize the American Deaf community as a linguistic and cultural minority group;
• possess an in-depth understanding of the history of the Deaf community and American Deaf culture;
• apply their knowledge of ASL and the Deaf community to their major;
• communicate proficiently in ASL and English;
• demonstrate proficiency of use of and comprehension of advanced vocabulary and grammatical features of ASL; and
• demonstrate proficiency of use of and comprehension of advanced vocabulary and grammatical features of English.