AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Certificate: 220
Why should I learn American Sign
Language (ASL) at MC?
Our students are motivated to study ASL for a
variety of professional and personal reasons.
Many of our students are interested in becoming
interpreters, so gaining fluency in ASL and
learning more about Deaf culture are integral
first steps. Others are pursuing fields like
education, speech-language pathology,
audiology, counseling, or social work, where
they will benefit from knowledge of ASL. Even
if their major does not explicitly require
knowledge of ASL, students in many different
service-related positions—childcare, retail, and
more—discover ASL to be an asset when
interacting with Deaf community members.
In addition to opening the door to many
professional opportunities, students often study
ASL for personal reasons. Many of our
students study ASL because they wish to
communicate with Deaf family and friends.
Some of our students are Deaf or hard of
hearing themselves and study ASL to learn
more about the structure and syntax of their own
language; others are international students who
use different sign languages and want to learn
American Sign Language as well. Regardless of
your motivation, you will find committed
instructors, relevant content, and engaged
student peers in our program.
Do you have prior experience with
ASL?
The Department of World Languages and
Philosophy has an assessment instrument to
place students out of ASLP100. Please contact
us (Macklin Tower 429; 240-567-5393) if you
have prior experience with ASL, and we will
help you meet with the ASL coordinator or a
faculty member to evaluate your skills. Please
note, at this time we do not offer credit by
exam. If you are majoring or seeking a degree in
ASL, you must meet with the department chair
and/or an ASL advisor to discuss course
substitution to meet General Education
distribution requirements
.
Can I get both the AA and the
certificate?
Yes! In fact, we recommend that all students
pursuing the A.A. in ASL also declare their
intent to pursue a certificate as well. The
overlap in required courses means that you can
pursue both simultaneously and graduate from
MC with both a degree and a credential. If you
have declared your major and are currently
pursuing the AA but not the certificate, contact
an advisor today to add the certificate
.
Online Advising
For more information about the American Sign
Language program, please review our
ASLP
General Advising Module and complete the
ASLP Advising Form to receive more
information.
