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The Ohio State University

ASL Program

Mission Statement

The Ohio State American Sign Language (ASL) Program seeks to create a challenging and safe learning environment that develops student communication skills using ASL.  Our program also promotes a deeper understanding about the history of and current issues within the American Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. We strive to foster positive relationships between our students and instructors that celebrate diversity and authenticity. We endeavor to create and maintain partnerships to fulfill our goals for undergraduate education, service, and research in the field.

ASL as an Interdisiplinary Program

The American Sign Language (ASL) Program at the Ohio State University is a unique collaborative program supported by the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs within the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences. Our courses are offered within the Department of English (College of the Humanities), Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences (College of Social and Behavioral Science), and the School of Teaching and Learning (College of Education and Human Ecology).  In addition, we benefit from our affiliation with the Foreign Language Center. Each department shares and supports the mission and the curriculum of the program.

The Ohio State University is among a growing number of colleges and universities to view American Sign Language as a foreign/second language. The ASL series fulfills the university's General Education Curriculum (GEC) foreign language requirement.
 

 


What is the GEC?
The General Education Curriculum is the basic outline of course work that the university requires undergraduates to complete.  Most Ohio State undergraduates are required to complete a foreign language sequence as part of their GEC.

How does ASL fit into the GEC?
Since 2002, students have been able to complete ASL levels 1-4 (four classes, 20 credit hours) to fulfill this GEC foreign language requirement. Our program does not offer a major or minor.