M State's 17-credit certificate in American Sign Language Studies provides basic training in ASL and an understanding of Deaf Culture. While the program does not prepare students to be interpreters, it will enable students to strengthen their ASL skills for communicating with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in:

• Education
• Social service agencies
• Law offices and the court system
• Medical fields
• Vocational rehabilitation

• Exceptional educational value
• Hands-on instruction
• Small class sizes with personalized instruction
• Learn from experienced instructors
• Participate in social and cultural activities with individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing

• Recognize the difference between Deaf cultureand deafness as a medical condition
• Communicate more effectively with deaf and hard-of-hearing people in varied settings
• Demonstrate basic conversational skills and use appropriate ASL vocabulary, finger spelling and numbers
• Prepare to meet prerequisites for ASL interpreter programs