Culture and language intertwine in the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) in American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Studies. Gain an understanding of Deaf studies, social justice, and advanced ASL. This degree consists of course work designed for those who have a minimum of ASL IV proficiency and are interested in working with Deaf communities by communicating directly in ASL, or who are interested in pre-interpreting studies with a goal of pursuing interpreting education. This degree is offered in-person at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS.
Course work and skill development provide a strong foundation in language and cultural education for those interested in fields such as social work, education, legal, medical, ASL/English interpretation and more. In addition, Deaf and hearing, heritage ASL users gain a deeper understanding of their home language and culture while earning a valuable professional credential.
Lower-level language coursees (ASL I-IV) can be taken at the KU Lawrence Campus, Johnson County Community College, or other regionlly accredited community colleges or universities. Upper-level language courses are offered at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS.
The bachelor degree programs in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies follow university admission requirements for transfer students.
This program offers flexible pathways for students to complete their degree. All students complete upper-level major requirements in-person at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS, with a few select online courses available. General education and lower-level ASL courses are completed on the Lawrence Campus, Johnson County Community College, or at another institution.
This program offers flexible pathways for students to complete their degree. The School of Professional Studies strongly encourages students to connect with a School representative prior to applying for admission to discuss a personalized plan. To schedule an appointment, please email professionalstudies@ku.edu.
Transfer Students:
Students may enter the program with varying levels of completed coursework. Admission and placement depend on total credit hours, ASL proficiency, and prior classes.
ASL Placement / Screening
Students who believe they have ASL IV–level fluency but do not have college credit for ASL IV, or who completed ASL IV more than two years ago, need to complete a placement or screening process before enrolling in upper-level coursework. Contact: professionalstudies@ku.edu
Transfer students with an associate’s degree or equivalent:
- Students must have ASL IV level proficiency as demonstrated by a minimum grade of C in the course or passing proficiency screening to take most upper-level ASLD courses.
Transfer students with 24-59 credit hours:
- Students with 24-59 credits may still need to complete prerequisite and lower-level courses.
- Please note that online lower-level courses are limited, and no lower-level courses are offered at the Edwards Campus.
- Students may find more lower-level course availability in-person at the Lawrence Campus, Johnson County Community College, or at another community college.
- Schedule an appointment with a School representative and create a personalized plan, email professionalstudies@ku.edu.
First-year students:
Incoming first-year students wanting to pursue this major apply through the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. An academic advisor will guide you through lower-level course selections and help you declare American Sign Language and Deaf Studies as your academic major when you are ready to begin junior and senior level courses.
First-year students should select the following options on the KU admission application:
Program: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Plan: Deciding
Subplan: Education and Public Service
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
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| ASLD 311 | Introduction to Deaf Studies | 3 |
| ASLD 312 | Intersectionality and Deaf Communities | 3 |
| ASLD 313 | Social Justice and Allyship with Deaf Communities | 3 |
| ASLD 420 | Sign Language and Cultural Analysis | 3 |
| ASLD 505 | American Sign Language V (ASL V) | 3 |
| ASLD 506 | American Sign Language VI (ASL VI) | 3 |
| ASLD 521 | Discourse Analysis of ASL | 3 |
| ASLD 522 | ASL Discourse | 3 |
| ASLD 524 | Visual-Gestural Communication | 3 |
| ASLD 601 | Applied ASL Linguistics | 3 |
| ASLD 631 | Advanced American Sign Language Literature | 3 |
| Historical Foundations of Deaf Education | |
| Special Topics in Deaf Studies: _____ | |
| Introduction to the ASL/English Interpreting Profession | |
| Theories of Interpreting: Co-Constructions of Meaning | |
| Research Experience in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies | |
| Topics in ASL Vocabulary and Discourse: _____ | |
| Language in Culture and Society | |
| Critical Communications in Criminal Justice | |
| Bilingualism | |
| Psycholinguistics I | |
| |
| Field Experience in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies | |
| Total Hours | 120 |
Bachelor’s degree in ASL & Deaf Studies does not prepare students to interpret. Please consult with your academic advisor for additional information.
While completing all required courses, students must also meet each of the following hour and grade-point average minimum standards:
Total Hours: Satisfied by a minimum of 120 total hours
Junior/Senior Hours: Satisfied by a minimum of 45 hours from junior/senior hours (300+).
Graduation GPA: Satisfied with a minimum 2.0 KU GPA and a minimum of a "C" in all required ASLD courses, electives, and capstone as listed above.
A sample 4-year plan for the BA degree in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies can be found here: American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, or by using the left-side navigation.
A sample 4-year plan for the BGS degree in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies can be found here: American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, or by using the left-side navigation.
A sample 4-year plan for the BA or BGS degree in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies with a minor in Pre ASL-English Interpreting can be found here: American Sign Language and Deaf Studies with Pre ASL-English Interpreting minor, or by using the left-side navigation.
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Engage in content-specific ASL discourse.
- Incorporate ASL linguistic structures in content-specific ASL discourse.
- Delineate a variety of values that are natural to Deaf humans as part of human biodiversity that impacts their language(s), culture, community, and identities.
- Explain and examine the intersecting socio-cultural, linguistic and essentialism factors to identify and deconstruct the systemic oppressions and microaggressions experienced by diverse Deaf communities and society at large.
- Utilize Deaf Crit (Gertz, 2003) in their social and professional discourse to amplify the experiences of the Deaf to support anti-audism and anti-linguicism work.
- Apply erudition (knowledge) and skills in the fields of ASL and Deaf communities which can be part of their career development process.
