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

Prepare confident candidates who can achieve state and/or national certification and enter the profession as a competent practitioner.
Demonstrate competency in receptive and expressive skills through visual/gestural communication, register adaptation and linguistically competent communications.
Demonstrate ASL discourse and pragmatic skills through authentic language experiences in a variety of forums and on a variety of topics.
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 Teacher Certification

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.

Students completing the teacher certification track are required to meet the requirements for entrance into the teacher preparation program. Candidates for Clinical Teaching must pass the Lamar University Professional Roles and Responsibilities (PPR) and the TExES 184  prior to beginning Clinical Teaching