Liberal Arts, American Sign Language (ASL) / Deaf Studies Major
- Associate of Arts (A.A.)
Program Snapshot
Your Learning Options
In-Person, Hybrid, 100% Online
60 Credit Hours
Estimated Time to Complete
2 years (5 full-time semesters)
In-State Tuition Per Credit Hour
$176.00 | Calculate your costs
Why ASL / Deaf Studies?
Unlock the door to effective communication and cultural understanding with our Liberal Arts, American Sign Language / Deaf Studies program.
- Gain fluency in ASL and deepen your understanding of the U.S. Deaf community from a cultural perspective.
- Choose from face-to-face, Zoom, or online course options, allowing you to tailor your learning experience to fit your schedule and preferences.
- Prepare for language screenings such as the SLPI:ASL to demonstrate your proficiency in ASL.
Paying for College
We are committed to using all of the available funds to help you gain access to a college education. In fact, more than 91% of our students graduate without any educational debt. In 2023, Reynolds Community College students received over $21 million dollars in grants, loans, work-study and scholarships with the average aid awarded totaling over $4,000 per student.
Payment plans are offered to break down tuition payments. Textbook Assistance and Laptop Lending Programs are also available. Be sure to explore all the types of financial aid available as well!
Why Reynolds?
We are more than a community college.
Reynolds is the key that unlocks the door to your academic and professional success. Here you will find a safe place to start. We will help you explore, dream, succeed, try, and try again. Our amazing faculty and highly personalized advisors, your Reynolds Navigators, are well known for guiding you to discover that "aha moment.” That means an outstanding college experience, less debt, more freedom, and a solid start on your future.
Take advantage of credits to use as a stepping stone to transfer to a four-year college or university, providing a solid foundation in American Sign Language ASL and Deaf Studies while earning valuable transfer credits.
Learn in student-focused courses, led by experienced instructors and faculty, prioritize conversational fluency and cultural awareness, ensuring a well-rounded education in ASL and Deaf culture.
Whether you're seeking foreign language credits, pursuing a career in interpreting, becoming a teacher of the Deaf, supporting friends and family of Deaf ASL users, or learning ASL due to hearing loss, our program caters to a diverse range of career goals and personal aspirations.
The only secret is to keep going… If you fall 100 times then you get up 101 times.
Keya Wingfield
Class Highlights
ASL 101 - American Sign Language I
Learn the fundamentals of American Sign Language (ASL) used by the Deaf Community, including basic vocabulary, fingerspelling, and grammatical non-manual signals.
ASL 125 - History and Culture of the Deaf Community I
Study the various aspects of Deaf culture, including educational and legal issues. Examines the history of the Deaf Community.
ASL 220 - Comparative Linguistics: ASL and English
Describes spoken English and ASL on five levels: phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and discourse.
Program Roadmap
Get all the details on our Liberal Arts, American Sign Language / Deaf Studies program, including class sequences, admission requirements, financial considerations, and more.
Additional Program Information
PURPOSE: The Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts lays the foundation for a Bachelor of Arts degree in art and art history, ASL-English Interpretation, communication, Deaf studies, English/literature, history, humanities, journalism, music, philosophy, pre-law, social sciences, speech-language pathology, religious studies, and world languages. The liberal arts promote a broad background of knowledge across the arts, humanities, languages, and social sciences to develop students’ abilities in analytical and critical thinking, written and oral communication, and understanding global cultural awareness.
THE ASL/DEAF STUDIES SPECIALIZATION: is designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university in a major that requires a background in American Sign Language and Deaf persons as a cultural group. These expanding fields include speech-language pathology, deaf education, ASL instruction, interpretation, interpreter education, linguistics, and Deaf studies (e.g., history, literature, and research).
PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of the AA degree in Liberal Arts, the student will be able to demonstrate:
- An interdisciplinary understanding of the human experience from different global, cultural, sociological, and historical perspectives;
- An awareness of how social and cultural contexts shape and influence forms of human expression; and
- An understanding of the interdependence of academic disciplines and how an interdisciplinary perspective contributes to understanding the human experience.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: General college curricular admission.
PROGRAM NOTES: The following high school units are strongly recommended: three units of college preparatory mathematics and two years of a foreign language.
COMPUTER COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT: Students in the Liberal Arts degree program will meet the college’s computer competency requirement by successfully completing ITE 115 or CSC 155. Students can also meet this requirement by passing the college’s computer competency exam, administered in the testing centers on each campus, in which case they will receive college credit for ITE 115 or CSC 155. Students not passing the computer competency exam may retake the exam only once.
WORLD LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT: This requirement for the Liberal Arts AA degree is to successfully complete the language study through the 202 level. Students may satisfy this requirement in one of the following ways:
- Take or transfer from another accredited institution, Spanish, French, or ASL at Reynolds through the 202 level (14 credits);
- Submit test scores (beyond the 101 level) through examination, or in the case of ASL, via credit by ABLE.
When a student is approved to complete language study lower than the 202 level, the student must successfully complete the difference in credits by selecting Approved Transfer Electives from the approved transfer electives.
NOTE: If transferring to a four-year institution, consult the transfer guide for that institution for guidance on completing the World Language requirement and contact the World Languages program head at Humanities@reynolds.edu. For assistance with languages other than Spanish, French, or ASL, the student should contact the World Languages program head for more information at Humanities@Reynolds.edu.
NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: Students who wish to be licensed to teach in Virginia should earn a baccalaureate degree in a liberal arts, science, or mathematics field. Students should consult with their advisor regarding elective choices that match their desired teaching endorsement area(s). While enrolled at the community college, students should prepare for and successfully complete Praxis Core (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics), the initial teacher licensure examination.
TRANSFER INFORMATION: The Liberal Arts degree is a two-year program designed for those students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree. While the program is designed to provide transfer paths that will match the requirements of four-year colleges and universities, the requirements may differ. Therefore, students are strongly urged to work with their assigned advisor and to acquaint themselves with the requirements of the major department in the college or university to which they plan to transfer. This program requires intermediate proficiency (two years of coursework or its equivalent) in a language other than English.
Each student admitted to the program is assigned an academic advisor to help plan the appropriate course of studies to transfer to the student’s choice of a four-year college or university. Students who complete the program generally transfer as juniors.
