The Benefits of Double Majoring with an ASL Degree
Double majoring can be an excellent option for students who want to expand their skill sets and broaden their employment opportunities following graduation. However, not all majors are suitable for this approach, as some programs may be disallowed by a college while others might be incongruous with each other.
ASL programs, though, are ideal for double majoring because the skills you will learn in these programs can complement other concentrations, allowing you to stand out in your future field. Let’s take a look at some viable double majors with an American Sign Language degree.
Programs to Pair American Sign Language with as a Second Major
Education
Adding ASL to your degree in education can help you gain highly specialized skills that will benefit your career. Not only will you be able to better serve diverse classrooms that include Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, but you will be suited for advocacy and Deaf studies roles.
Additionally, many regions suffer from a shortage of educators who possess both subject-specific expertise and ASL abilities, meaning you will have a wide array of employment opportunities to select from. You could also pursue graduate education in areas like Deaf education, speech-language pathology, and audiology.
Social Work
A social work double major with American Sign Language makes students incredibly marketable for diverse human services roles, including those in agencies, healthcare settings, schools, and community organizations. Much like the education field, social workers with ASL skills are fairly rare, so possessing such skills can make a difference when competing in the job market.
Ultimately, ASL skills will allow you to provide better support to more clients, aiding Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and their families. Plus, learning ASL helps you to enhance perceptional skills, cognitive abilities, and empathy, all of which contribute to a successful career as a social worker.
Healthcare
Healthcare professionals who fluently speak American Sign Language can provide more compassionate and effective patient care, as they can clearly relay essential medical information without needing to rely on interpreters. This ultimately improves patient trust, satisfaction, and health outcomes, ensuring no miscommunications about diagnoses, treatments, or follow-ups.
Many healthcare professionals can benefit from a background in ASL, including doctors, nurses, therapists, and medical interpreters, giving students many pathways for their careers. Additionally, ASL speakers in healthcare settings help facilities comply with accessibility requirements imposed by the industry and federal laws.
Linguistics
A linguistics double major with American Sign Language allows students to enhance each concentration, developing their skills in language theory, communication, and language patterns. Students in linguistics will be able to approach and analyze ASL more fully, noting its rules, nonverbal cues, and cross-modal language dynamics.
Career opportunities for these double majors include translation, language research, lexicography, language documentation, publishing, and more. Additionally, educational, governmental, and Deaf advocacy roles can be pursued.
Psychology
By adding ASL to your degree in psychology, you will be able to provide better care and form more personal relationships with Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients in your future roles, without relying on outside interpreters.
Clinical, educational, and counseling settings can all benefit from ASL skills, and careers in academia, advocacy, and speech-language pathology are also viable options.
Communications
Pairing communications with American Sign Language as a second major can let you master various forms of expression, including verbal, nonverbal, visual communication, and more. For a field that relies so heavily on presenting clear messages effectively to a chosen audience, the communications industry greatly benefits from having members with a background in ASL.
Some career options for graduates include public relations, diversity and inclusion coordination, human resources, interpretation, and more. ASL expertise can also help organizations comply with legal requirements for inclusivity.
Set Yourself Up for Success with an ASL Double Major from Kent State
The Kent State Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies is proud to offer a Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language that can be paired with a variety of other major concentrations.
Our B.A. helps students build their skills through immersion and bilingual comparison classes, community interaction, research, lab activities, digital video technology, and more. Courses students will take to fulfil requirements or electives include:
- Elementary American Sign Language
- Intermediate American Sign Language
- Advanced American Sign Language
- Fundamentals of Audiology for Students with Hearing Loss
- Sociolinguistics of the Deaf Community
- Applied American Sign Language Grammar
- Fingerspelling, Numbers and Depiction
- Foreign Languages and Culture Studies
Be sure to visit our dual degree and double major page to learn about program pairings, dates, procedures, and more.
Contact Kent State
If you have any questions about our program or would just like to know more about double majoring with American Sign Language, feel free to contact our team! We’re here to support you every step of the way on your language journey.