American Sign Language Minor

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Admission Criteria

Application should be made when the student has completed ASL 102*.

Current UB students seeking admission to the American Sign Language minor should complete the College of Arts and Sciences Major/Minor Change Request Form.

Course Requirements

American Sign Language Core (21 credits)

ASL 101LEC - First-Year American Sign Language Credits: 5 OR
ASL 111DIS - First-Year American Sign Language 1st Semester Credits: 3
ASL 102LEC - First-Year American Sign Language Credits: 5 OR
ASL 112DIS - First-Year American Sign Language 2nd Semester Credits: 3
ASL 203LEC - Second-Year American Sign Language 1st Semester Credits: 3
ASL 204LEC - Second-Year American Sign Language 2nd Semester Credits: 3
ASL 211LEC - Introduction to Deaf Studies Credits: 3
ASL 305LEC - Third-Year American Sign Language 1st Semester Credits: 3
ASL 306LEC - Third-Year American Sign Language 2nd Semester Credits: 3
American Sign Language Electives:
ASL 411LEC - American Sign Language Linguistics Credits: 3
LIN 106LEC - Languages of the World Credits: 3
LIN 200LEC - Language in Pluralistic America Credits: 3
LIN 201LEC - Creoles, Pidgins and Mixed Languages and Cultures Credits: 3
LIN 207LEC - Language, Society, and the Individual Credits: 3

Notes:

*Application should be made when the student has completed ASL 102 or ASL 112.

Some students, based on demonstrated proficiency in ASL, may begin their study of ASL at the 102/112, 203, 204, or higher level. The lower level courses that they do not take will not count toward the minor and must be replaced with other ASL or ASL-related courses to bring the total number of courses to seven and the total number of credits to at least 21.

Total Credits Required for Minor: 21

Total Credit Hours Required represents the minimum credits needed to complete this program, and may vary based on a number of circumstances. This chart should not be used for financial aid purposes.

Academic Requirements

To ensure students are prepared to succeed in and meet the demand of a minor in American Sign Language, students must attain a minimum grade of 72% (C) or higher in ASL 101 /ASL 111 and ASL 102 /ASL 112. Furthermore, upon completion of ASL 102 or ASL 112, students are expected to earn a minimum grade of 80% (B-) or higher in all subsequent ASL courses, with the exception of ASL 211 : Introduction of Deaf Studies.

Students with prior American Sign Language proficiency (e.g. four years of ASL in high school) should consult with the Director of the ASL Program for appropriate course placement.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this minor, students will be able to:

Use ASL at various levels of discourse.
Master target, content-specific statements, questions, and commands in ASL.
Initiate, conduct, and terminate simple to complex content-specific conversations.
Employ the fundamental grammatical features in ASL including question types, directionality, time sequenced ordering, conditional sentence types, classifiers, non-manual signals, and use of space.
Identify the major structural features of ASL: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
Comprehend and produce of regulating behaviors (e.g., attention getting techniques and turn taking signals).
Recognize ASL literature and its genres (e.g., folkloristic and single-authored works) and analyze how ASL literature is similar and dissimilar to other world literatures.
Demonstrate respect for American Sign Language as a living, unique, and wholly naturally occurring language and recognize that the Deaf community has their own set of cultural traditions and values.
Identify means and methods of systematic oppression of Deaf people.
Analyze social, economic, and political activities engaged in by Deaf people in the United States (e.g., social justice).
Refine critical analysis and synthesis skills in their ASL work related to course texts and other course-related events such as ASL presentations outside of class.