Units required for Minor: 23

Program Description

American Sign Language and Deaf Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in American and world society. The program promotes the understanding of the deaf community as a linguistic and cultural group and encourages students to analyze existing stereotypes and policies relating to deaf and hard-of-hearing people in order to work both within their own communities and others in affecting change for the betterment of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

With an ASL and Deaf Studies Minor, students may obtain entry-level jobs in settings working with the deaf such as residential supervisor, classroom aide, vocational trainer, and much more. Students may also combine an ASL and Deaf Studies Minor with a related major field of study such as education, counseling, audiology and speech therapy for a more well-rounded grounding in the issues relating to the deaf and hard-of-hearing in their field. Students in fields which are not specifically deaf-related such as nursing, law, computer engineering, and many more may also experience an edge in gaining employment, whether in deaf-related settings or not, with a minor in ASL and Deaf Studies compared to those without similar coursework or experience.

Further, students having completed the ASL and Deaf Studies Minor may be able to waive similar coursework at other universities with specialized fields of study relating to deafness that may not be offered in the Sacramento region.

Program Requirements