undergradly.
Major · Languages & Linguistics

A language, a culture, a community on its own terms

American Sign Language (CIP 16.1601) builds fluency in ASL grammar, Deaf culture, and the linguistics of a visual-spatial language. About 433 students complete the program each year across 79 colleges, with associate’s and bachelor’s tracks running roughly side by side.

Schools offering
79
Annual completions
433
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$44k

About this major

American Sign Language (CIP 16.1601) is a focused study of ASL as a complete visual-spatial language and of the Deaf community in which it lives. The federal definition centers on ASL development, morphology and syntax, signing technique, English translation of ASL, formal and colloquial registers, and ASL transcription. Coursework typically threads through Deaf history and culture, introductory linguistics, recorded signing labs, and service-learning hours with local Deaf organizations, with study cross-listed against the related Deaf Studies code (CIP 05.0211). Many programs require fieldwork at Deaf-services nonprofits, K-12 schools with Deaf students, or campus disability offices.

The major rewards a particular kind of student. You need patience for the years it takes to develop true conversational ASL fluency, comfort with the visual-spatial grammar that makes ASL a distinct language rather than signed English, and a willingness to enter a community where Deafness is identity rather than impairment. Strong candidates often arrive with prior ASL exposure or contact with the Deaf community, and they tend to be drawn to language, culture, and the way humans build meaning rather than to the mechanics of translation alone.

On the scale side, 433 students complete the program each year across 79 colleges, with associate’s and bachelor’s tracks running roughly side by side. Top issuers are Utah Valley University (23 bachelor’s) and Lamar University (20 bachelor’s) at the four-year level, and a cluster of California community colleges — Bakersfield (16), Fresno City (14), Oxnard (13), Los Angeles Pierce (12), Los Medanos (12), and College of the Sequoias (12) — at the associate level, with Kent State Kent and Weber State also at 12. The packet lists three career destinations: secondary school teachers at $64,580 median, interpreters and translators at $59,440 with 1.7% projected growth, and postsecondary foreign-language teachers at $77,010 — the last requiring a doctorate. Five-year median earnings sit at $44,256, with associate’s holders at $38,927 and bachelor’s holders at $45,856.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Interpreters and translators $59k +1.7% Bachelor's degree
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary $77k -0.2% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$44k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$39k

Bachelor's

$46k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you already have meaningful ASL exposure or contact with the Deaf community and want to formalize it through linguistics and Deaf studies, if you are drawn to ASL as a complete visual-spatial language rather than as a tool for translation alone, if you are willing to plan for an additional one-to-two-year interpreter training program or a master’s at Gallaudet, NTID, or Western Oregon to convert the major into a career, if you can sustain the years it takes to build the cultural fluency that Deaf clients and colleagues read quickly, and if a varied caseload across schools, hospitals, video relay agencies, and Deaf-services nonprofits sounds like the kind of work you want.

Think twice if you want a high-ceiling earnings major straight out of the bachelor’s — the $44,256 five-year median reflects a workforce still building toward RID NIC, EIPA, or teacher certification. Reconsider if you actually want the applied interpreting track: Sign Language Interpretation and Translation (CIP 16.1603, 793 completions) is the more direct route to certification eligibility. Reconsider if the only career destinations that excite you require a doctorate, like the postsecondary foreign-language teacher path at $77,010, since that is a 6-to-8-year graduate commitment after the bachelor’s. Treat the ASL major as a strong language-and-culture foundation that pairs with another track — Linguistics, Education, Speech-Language Pathology, audiology — rather than as a standalone career credential.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for American Sign Language (ASL)

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Utah Valley University Orem, UT 0 23 23
Lamar University Beaumont, TX 0 20 20
Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA 16 0 16
Fresno City College Fresno, CA 14 0 14
Oxnard College Oxnard, CA 13 0 13
Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA 12 0 12
Los Medanos College Pittsburg, CA 12 0 12
College of the Sequoias Visalia, CA 12 0 12
Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH 0 12 12
Weber State University Ogden, UT 12 0 12
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Spanish Language and Literature

4,864 completions/yr

Foreign Languages and Literatures, General

1,740 completions/yr

Linguistics

1,672 completions/yr

French Language and Literature

882 completions/yr

Sign Language Interpretation and Translation

793 completions/yr

Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General

692 completions/yr

Japanese Language and Literature

589 completions/yr

German Language and Literature

399 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do American Sign Language majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework moves through ASL fluency at increasing levels, ASL morphology and syntax, signing technique and discourse, English-to-ASL translation, Deaf history and culture, and often introductory linguistics. You spend significant lab time on receptive and expressive signing, frequently recorded for instructor feedback. Many programs require service-learning hours with the local Deaf community, internship placements at Deaf-services nonprofits, or supervised fieldwork in K-12 settings.
Is this the same major as Sign Language Interpretation and Translation?
No. American Sign Language (CIP 16.1601, 433 completions) emphasizes the language, its linguistics, and Deaf studies. Sign Language Interpretation and Translation (CIP 16.1603, 793 completions) is the applied vocational track aimed at certification-eligible interpreting careers, with required interpreting practica. Many ASL graduates who want to interpret professionally pursue an additional one-to-two-year interpreter training program or a master’s in interpreting after the bachelor’s.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough?
Both degree levels are common — the data shows associate’s holders earning around $38,927 and bachelor’s holders around $45,856 five years out, a roughly $7,000 spread. Associate’s programs concentrate in California community colleges like Bakersfield, Fresno City, Oxnard, Los Angeles Pierce, Los Medanos, and College of the Sequoias, often as transfer pathways. The bachelor’s aligns better with downstream eligibility for RID interpreter certification, Deaf-Ed teacher licensure, and graduate programs at Gallaudet, NTID, or Western Oregon.
What kinds of jobs do graduates actually land?
The packet tracks Interpreters and Translators at $59,440 median with 1.7% projected growth, secondary school teachers (excluding special and CTE) at $64,580, and postsecondary foreign-language teachers at $77,010 — the last requiring a doctorate. Real-world destinations include educational interpreters in K-12 (often via the EIPA assessment), staff interpreters in disability service offices, video relay service work at Sorenson, Convo, ZVRS, or Purple, Deaf-services nonprofit roles at HEARD or NAD, ASL instructor positions at community colleges, and accessibility roles on corporate DEIA teams at companies like Apple, Google, or Microsoft.
What certifications matter after graduation?
For interpreting, the RID National Interpreter Certification is the standard, with NIC Advanced and NIC Master tiers above it; Texas uses the BEI credential, K-12 settings often require the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment, and Deaf interpreters pursue the CDI. For teaching the Deaf in K-12, plan on a state license plus the related special-education credential (CIP 13.1003). Medical interpreting adds the CMI-ASL exam, and court-certified legal interpreting is a separate state-by-state process.
What does the career arc look like beyond entry-level?
The five-year median earnings of $44,256 reflect a workforce still building credentials. With RID NIC and a few years of mentorship, video relay and medical-legal interpreters reach $60,000-$95,000; staff K-12 interpreters with EIPA typically run $40,000-$55,000. Master’s-track paths through Gallaudet (Deaf Studies, MA in Interpreting), Western Oregon, the University of Northern Colorado, or NTID open higher-paying interpreter educator, Deaf-Ed faculty, and audiology pipeline roles. The bachelor’s in ASL is rarely a terminal credential — it functions as a feeder to certification, teacher licensure, or graduate study.