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American Sign Language

Instructional content for this group of programs is defined in codes 16.1601 - 16.1699.

Types of Degrees American Sign Language Majors Are Earning

People majoring in American Sign Language may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	211
Associate’s Degree	744
Bachelor’s Degree	497
Master’s Degree	837
Doctor’s Degree	4

What American Sign Language Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in American Sign Language emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a American Sign Language 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.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to American Sign Language careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

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

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Google Translate Client	Foreign language software	—
Language Engineering Corporation Translate Pro	Foreign language software	—
Babylon Online Translator	Foreign language software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for American Sign Language graduates include:

• Teacher
• Spanish Teacher
• Language Teacher
• Language Instructor
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• French Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• Instructor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Associate Professor
• Lecturer
• Assistant Professor
• Military Science Instructor

What Can You Do With a American Sign Language Degree?

Graduates with a degree in American Sign Language commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	1.8%	$77,927	$66,306–$89,549

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	47.1%
Doctoral degree	22.6%
Master’s degree	17.6%
Post-master’s certificate	3.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.9%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.3%
Postsecondary certificate	0.5%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in American Sign Language?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.2% of American Sign Language degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,061	89.2%
Men	250	10.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,345	58.2%
Asian	56	2.4%
Hispanic or Latino	503	21.8%
Black or African American	190	8.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	14	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.1%
Two or More Races	119	5.1%
Race Unknown	70	3.0%
International Students	12	0.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do American Sign Language Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of American Sign Language graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise 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 Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for American Sign Language. 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	6	7
Bachelor’s	2	5
Master’s	3	1

^{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 Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, American Sign Language 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	Annual Degrees Awarded
Foreign Languages Linguistics	28,685
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	12,321
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	7,564
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	2,111
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	1,385
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	1,084
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	545
Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	541
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	448
Second Language Learning	230
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	58
Southeast Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General	36

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.