American Sign Language Studies
A.A. Degree American Sign Language · Chaffey College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Description
The American Sign Language Studies degree prepares students for careers relating to the Deaf community and/or American Sign Language (ASL). Students will gain skills in communicating through ASL and translating English to ASL/ASL to English. American Sign Language Studies may lead students to careers in deaf education, interpreting, sign language instruction, linguistic research, and many other areas. Additionally, students will have greater employment opportunities with their ability to communicate with the deaf and hard-of-hearing population, especially in legal fields, education, public safety, and health care.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this program, students should be able to:
- Successfully engage in conversation strategies in ASL using receptive and expressive skills at deaf community comprehension/ production skills.
- Demonstrate familiarity with history, social and political issues related to American Deaf Community.
- Apply skills and knowledge about the Deaf community in higher education or training programs to be ASL interpreters or Educators of Deaf children
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements for the Associate in Arts Degree: | 19 | |
| ASL 1 | Elementary American Sign Language I | 4 |
| ASL 2 | Elementary American Sign Language II | 4 |
| ASL 3 | Intermediate American Sign Language III | 4 |
| ASL 4 | Intermediate American Sign Language IV | 4 |
| ASL 18 | Introduction to Deaf Studies | 3 |
| Plus 6 units from the following: | 6 | |
| ASL 21 | Classifiers/Depicting Verbs | 2 |
| ASL 22 | Fingerspelling/Numbers | 2 |
| ANTHRO 1 | Introduction to Biological Anthropology | 3 |
| COMSTD 14 | Oral Interpretation of Literature | 3 |
| COMSTD 74 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| ED 10 | Introduction to Elementary Classroom Teaching | 3 |
| ED 10W | Introduction to Elementary Classroom Teaching Fieldwork | 1 |
| Choose one: | 3 | |
| PHIL 72 | Seminar in Ethics | 3 |
| orPHIL 76 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| PSYCH 65 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| SOC 10 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| Total | 25 | |
Other Information
Arts, Communication, and Design
Local Program (Major) Code: A407
Program Control Number: A407
TOP Code: .
CIP Code: 16.1601