Vision Statement

DSDE, acclaimed as a pioneer and nationally recognized bilingual program in the field of Deaf Education and Deaf Studies, leads in innovation in education, research, and service to Deaf individuals.

Mission Statement  

The department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (DSDE) cultivates and inspires students with research base innovative learning opportunities to become scholars, service providers, and advocates.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Prepare confident candidates who can achieve state and/or national certification and enter the profession as a competent practitioner.
2. Demonstrate competency in receptive and expressive skills through visual/gestural communication, register adaptation and linguistically competent communications.
3. Demonstrate ASL discourse and pragmatic skills through authentic language experiences in a variety of forums and on a variety of topics.
4. Foster an environment that encourages and supports students entering careers in the field or in graduate school.

Degree Information

Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language with a concentration in Advocacy

The bachelor’s degree program in American Sign Language (ASL) prepares students for teaching in schools offering ASL for “foreign language” credit in an EC-12 program. Each student must complete a REQUIRED departmental core of courses. In addition, each student will complete the pedagogy courses required for licensure.

All students must satisfy provisions of the Texas Success Initiative program, which are listed elsewhere in this catalog. College Readiness courses do not count in the GPA (except for determining full-time status and issues related to probation and suspension) and do not count toward graduation.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
General Education Core Curriculum
Communication
ENGL 1301	Composition I	3
COMM 1321	Business and Professional Speech	3
or COMM 1315	Public Speaking I
Mathematics
MATH 1332	Contemporary Mathematics I	3
Life and Physical Sciences
Select two of the following:		6
BIOL 1308	General Biology (Non-Science Majors)
BIOL 1315	Plants and Human Society (Non-Majors)
BIOL 2306	Environmental Science
CHEM 1306	Chemistry for Allied Health Sciences
CHEM 1308	Biochemistry for Allied Health Sciences
CHEM 1311	General Chemistry I
CHEM 1312	General Chemistry II
GEOL 1390	Introductory Environmental & Physical Geology
PHYS 1305	Elementary Physics I Lecture
PHYS 1307	Elementary Physics II Lecture
PHYS 1311	Introduction to Astronomy Lecture
SPSC 1301	Space Exploration
Language, Philosophy and Culture
Select one of the following:		3
ENGL 2300	Ethics and Literature
ENGL 2322	British Literature
ENGL 2326	American Literature
ENGL 2331	World Literature
ENGL 2376	African-American Literature
PHIL 1370	Philosophy of Knowledge
PHIL 2306	Ethics
Creative Arts
Select one of the following:		3
ARTS 1301	Art Appreciation
ARTS 1303	Art History I
COMM 1375	Film Appreciation
COSC 1324	The Art of Computer Game Development
DANC 2303	Dance Appreciation
MUSI 1306	Music Appreciation
MUSI 1309	Jazz History and Appreciation
MUSI 1310	History of Rock and Roll
PHIL 1330	Arts and Ideas
THEA 1310	Theatre Appreciation
American History
Select two of the following:		6
HIST 1301	U S History I 1763-1877
HIST 1302	U S History II Since 1877
HIST 2301	Texas History
Government/Political Science
POLS 2301	Intro to American Government I	3
POLS 2302	Intro/American Government II	3
Social and Behavioral Sciences
PSYC 2301	General Psychology	3
Component Area Option		6
ENGL 1302	Composition II
Complete any three unused hours from the core sections above.
Required Major Courses
DSDE Courses
DSDE 1371	ASL I	3
DSDE 1372	ASL II	3
DSDE 1374	Introduction to Deaf Studies	3
DSDE 1377	Introduction to Deaf Education	3
DSDE 1378	Intro to Interpreting	3
DSDE 1379	ASL Structure	3
DSDE 2371	ASL III	3
DSDE 2372	American Sign Language IV	3
DSDE 2380	ASL V	3
DSDE 2381	ASL VI	3
DSDE 2382	ASL Linguistics	3
DSDE 2384	Linguistics of Fingerspelling	3
DSDE 3303	Interpreting for Diverse Deaf Communities	3
DSDE 3307	ASL Literature	3
DSDE 3311	Advocacy and Services for Individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3
DSDE 3312	Social Justice Advocacy	3
DSDE 3322	Research Theory	3
DSDE 3328	Deafhood and Allyship	3
DSDE 4308	Teaching ASL as a Second Language	3
DSDE 4309	Practicum	3
DSDE 4320	Global Deaf Communities	3
Electives		15
Total Hours		120

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
Fall		Hours
DSDE 1371	ASL I	3
DSDE 1372	ASL II	3
ENGL 1301	Composition I	3
HIST 1301	U S History I 1763-1877	3
DSDE 1379	ASL Structure	3
	Hours	15
Spring
DSDE 2371	ASL III	3
DSDE 2372	American Sign Language IV	3
ENGL 1302	Composition II	3
MATH 1332	Contemporary Mathematics I	3
DSDE 2382	ASL Linguistics	3
	Hours	15
Second Year
Fall
DSDE 2380	ASL V	3
DSDE 2381	ASL VI	3
Lang, Phil, and Culture		3
DSDE 2384	Linguistics of Fingerspelling	3
DSDE 1378	Intro to Interpreting	3
	Hours	15
Spring
Creative Arts		3
DSDE 1377	Introduction to Deaf Education	3
DSDE 3311	Advocacy and Services for Individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing	3
HIST 1302	U S History II Since 1877	3
Life and Physical Science		3
	Hours	15
Third Year
Fall
DSDE 1374	Introduction to Deaf Studies	3
DSDE 3322	Research Theory	3
DSDE 3307	ASL Literature	3
POLS 2301	Intro to American Government I	3
COMM 1315	Public Speaking I	3
	Hours	15
Spring
PSYC 2301	General Psychology	3
Component Area Option		3
DSDE 3328	Deafhood and Allyship	3
Electives		3
POLS 2302	Intro/American Government II	3
	Hours	15
Fourth Year
Fall
DSDE 3303	Interpreting for Diverse Deaf Communities	3
DSDE 3312	Social Justice Advocacy	3
DSDE 4309	Practicum	3
Electives		3
Life & Physical Science		3
	Hours	15
Spring
DSDE 4308	Teaching ASL as a Second Language	3
DSDE 4320	Global Deaf Communities	3
Electives		9
	Hours	15
	Total Hours	120