AA/AS in American Sign Language

The American Sign Language emphasis offers four levels of language study centered on comprehension, production and cultural knowledge, plus a course on Deaf culture. The aim is fluency in receptive and expressive signing and respect for cultural diversity. Graduates may move toward work in teaching, interpreting, business, linguistics, the arts, healthcare settings and the humanities. This is an area of emphasis within an associate degree, so the courses are chosen with transfer in mind. Requirements differ from one receiving college to another, so students are urged to meet with a counselor early and confirm what their intended university expects. Courses chosen for the emphasis may also count toward general education, which can shorten the time needed to complete the associate degree and prepare for the next stage of study.