This program will help students develop knowledge about American Sign Language, cultural impacts related to being deaf or hard of hearing and the state of Nevada statutory regulations that govern interpreting. Students will prepare for a variety of careers including teaching, social work, psychology, speech and language pathology or any career that interacts with the deaf.
Please see the Associate of Applied Science page for a list of all courses filling general education requirements.
The mission of the Western Nevada College Deaf Studies Associate of Applied Science Degree Program is to provide a quality education to students, thus developing their comprehensive expressive/receptive skills in American Sign Language, finger-spelling fluency and knowledge of the history and culture of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Students are provided a strong foundation in which to enter numerous high-demand professional fields that provide services to deaf or hard-of-hearing people.
Upon completing the Deaf Studies Associate of Applied Science degree, students will be able to:
- Produce basic expressive/receptive sign language communicative skills.
- Demonstrate appropriate ASL linguistic and grammatical structure in signing.
- Demonstrate functional language aptitude in American Sign Language including expressive/receptive signing.
- Demonstrate knowledge of linguistic, cultural, educational and social aspects of linguistic aspects in relation to the history of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Demonstrate basic fluency in receptive and expressive pragmatics and production of finger-spelling in ASL.
Required Courses
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Total Requirements | 60 Units | |
| Program Requirements | 36 Units | |
| AM 140* | American Sign Language I & II | 6 |
| AM 141** | American Sign Language III & IV | 6 |
| AM 149 | American Sign Language V | 4 |
| AM 150 | American Sign Language VI | 4 |
| AM 151 | Fingerspelling I | 1 |
| AM 152 | Fingerspelling II | 1 |
| AM 215 | Conversational ASL | 4 |
| AM 216 | Receptive ASL | 4 |
| AM 253 | Deaf Culture | 3 |
| AM 254 | Deaf History | 3 |
| General Education Requirements | 24 Units | |
| English/Communications Requirements: Must include a writing course. | 6 | |
| Human Relations Requirement | 3 | |
| Humanities/Social Science Requirement | 3 | |
| Mathematics Requirement | 3 | |
| Science Requirement | 3 | |
| U.S. and Nevada Constitution Requirement | 3 | |
| General Elective: Recommend: Theatre 105 | 3 | |
| AM 145-148 will not be offered effective Fall 2020. | ||
| *Students can take AM 145 and AM 146 in lieu of AM 140 for slower-paced courses. **Students can take AM 147 and AM 148 in lieu of AM 141 for slower-paced courses. | ||
Suggested Course Sequence
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Deaf Studies | ||
| First Semester | ||
| AM 140* | American Sign Language I & II | 6 |
| AM 151 | Fingerspelling I | 1 |
| AM 254 | Deaf History | 3 |
| English/Comm Course | 3 | |
| Human Relations Course | 3 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| AM 141** | American Sign Language III & IV | 6 |
| AM 152 | Fingerspelling II | 1 |
| AM 253 | Deaf Culture | 3 |
| English/Comm Course | 3 | |
| Humanities/Social Science Course | 3 | |
| Third Semester | ||
| AM 149 | American Sign Language V | 4 |
| AM 216 | Receptive ASL | 4 |
| Mathematics Course | 3 | |
| U.S. and Nevada Constitution | 3 | |
| Fourth Semester | ||
| AM 150 | American Sign Language VI | 4 |
| AM 215 | Conversational ASL | 4 |
| General Elective: Recommend: Theatre 105 | 3 | |
| Science Course | 3 | |