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American Sign Language (ASL)

Types of Degrees American Sign Language (ASL) Majors Are Earning

Those studying American Sign Language (ASL) have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	55
Associate’s Degree	306
Bachelor’s Degree	135
Master’s Degree	368

What American Sign Language (ASL) Majors Need to Know

Programs in American Sign Language (ASL) emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that American Sign Language (ASL) graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in American Sign Language (ASL) emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a American Sign Language (ASL) program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to American Sign Language (ASL) careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, American Sign Language (ASL) graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by American Sign Language (ASL) professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Adobe Illustrator	Graphics or photo imaging software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for American Sign Language (ASL) graduates include:

• French Teacher
• Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Hebrew Teacher
• Spanish Teacher
• Language Teacher
• Language Instructor
• Russian Language Professor
• Assistant Professor
• German Professor
• Program Instructor
• German Teacher
• Arabic Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to American Sign Language (ASL) graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	45.2%
Doctoral degree	28.2%
Master’s degree	15.1%
Post-master’s certificate	3.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.0%
Postsecondary certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in American Sign Language (ASL)?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 90.1% of American Sign Language (ASL) degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	792	90.1%
Men	87	9.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of American Sign Language (ASL) graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	473	53.8%
Asian	27	3.1%
Hispanic or Latino	231	26.3%
Black or African American	71	8.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	8	0.9%
Two or More Races	48	5.5%
Race Unknown	17	1.9%
International Students	4	0.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do American Sign Language (ASL) Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of American Sign Language (ASL) graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,601
4 years	$38,080
5 years	$43,723

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $43,723 — roughly 19% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online American Sign Language (ASL) Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for American Sign Language (ASL). The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	2	5

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in American Sign Language (ASL) Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, American Sign Language (ASL) graduates earn a median of $38,080 four years after completion — essentially in line with the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
American Sign Language	16.16
American Sign Language, Other	16.1699
Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages	16.1602
Sign Language Interpretation and Translation	16.1603
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202
Arabic Language and Literature	16.1101
Chinese Language and Literature	16.0301
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.1299
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1200
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.0399
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0300

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.