American Sign Language Studies
Interest in the study of American Sign Language (ASL) has increased steadily since the linguistic documentation of ASL as a legitimate language beginning around 1960. This growth corresponds with a 2021 survey by the Modern Language Association which found that “ASL has experienced a steady increase of advanced enrollments over an eight-year period” with the second-highest number of enrollments in world languages so that it is now the third most commonly studied language behind French and Spanish (see, MLA Report, 2021). ASL courses at the University of Connecticut is another example of this growing trend, beginning in 1989, with our first ASL course, followed by an increasing number of sections and ultimately six levels of ASL. In addition, we offer a variety of courses in Deaf studies, linguistics, and interpreting. Most importantly, and continuing with the increasing interest and popularity in the study of ASL, in 2020, UConn included a Bachelor’s Degree in ASL Studies, the first and only degree in Connecticut to offer this opportunity.
ASL can be used to satisfy the UConn world language graduation requirement and courses are also available during our winter and summer programs. Students are encouraged to take ASL courses in immediate succession to offer greater retention of course content for subsequent advanced courses. Refer to our ASL Studies major for more information.
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For more information, please contact Dr. Linda Pelletier at:
Linda Pelletier, Ph.D., CI/CT, NAD5
Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator
University of Connecticut
365 Fairfield Way, Unit 1145
Storrs, CT 06269-1145 (USA)
Linda.Pelletier@uconn.edu