By Alexandra Townsend
The University of Maryland will officially launch a new minor in American Sign Language through the College of Education in Spring 2026. The program reflects the university’s growing commitment to inclusivity, accessibility and linguistic diversity, while addressing the long-standing student demand for more structured ASL instruction.
The ASL minor will be 15 credits that combine practical language learning with an in-depth understanding of the Deaf community, education, communication and counseling. The minor blends language learning with topics in Deaf history and accessibility, teaching students proper etiquette when communicating with someone who is deaf.
The university offers a few ASL classes; however, there has never been a formal pathway for students pursuing advanced ASL study until now.
Professor Michael Dunham, the university’s only ASL professor, will serve as the director of the new minor.
Dunham, who is Deaf, advocated for expanding on-campus ASL education and played a key role in designing the program. When explaining the minor’s direction and hopes, he used a relay system to communicate. This communication method allows Deaf individuals to interact with hearing people over the phone through an intermediary who voices and signs messages in real time.
Dunham hopes to build a program that not only reaches ASL but also strengthens students’ awareness of the experiences and perspectives of the Deaf community. He said he wants the program to be unique, collaborative, and immersive, going beyond just the UMD community.
“They should have the chance to attend events, connect with the local Deaf community, interact with other ASL users, and practice signing in real-world settings,” Dunham said.
Dunham brings personal experience and insight to the program, offering students a deeper understanding of Deaf culture and the importance of authentic representation in ASL education.
Dunham emphasized that the minor will teach students not only ASL but also how to communicate respectfully with Deaf individuals.
“Many people, when they learn someone is Deaf, either leave or ask to read lips,” Dunham said. “These responses are considered rude, so I teach basic etiquette to prevent them.”
Lucinda Weaver, a junior hearing and speech major, also has a minor in special education and plans to add ASL as a second minor this spring. She is currently studying speech pathology; however, after taking an education course, she said she hopes to pursue a career in special education.
She is learning about the representation of different disabled groups in education. Weaver notes a lack of representation of Deaf children in the education community.
“In my education class, I’ve seen how underrepresented the Deaf community is, especially when it comes to ASL and cultural awareness,” she said.
MacKenzie Perhach is a second-year graduate student studying hearing and speech. She said she was very excited about the minor after encountering people who use sign language during her clinicals and, as a result, enrolled in some sign language classes at UMD.
“Last spring, a little girl who didn’t speak, only used signs. I didn’t know many signs, but I used all I did learn, and I pulled enough information I did know, and the rest I got from the internet.” Perhach said.
As a hearing and speech graduate student, she acknowledged that the people who use sign language in their daily lives aren’t always deaf. Many individuals who use sign language are just non-verbal, or they use sign to support their communication with speech. Given the wide range of reasons people use sign language, she hopes the ASL minor and the Department of Hearing and Speech can build stronger connections and collaborate on shared projects that can benefit both.
“We have a cochlear program here at Maryland through audiology,” Perhach said. “It would be great if the ASL minor worked with Hearing and Speech to spread awareness about what we are working on.”
Erin Gill, a junior hearing and speech major, is a child of Deaf adults. Her whole family is Deaf, including her twin brother, who is hard of hearing. She is the only one in her family who can hear, and she said that it has shaped her life in many ways.
“Since both my parents are deaf, I grew up with sign language as my primary language,” Gill said. “It took time to understand fully, but it’s also why I want to study speech pathology, plus being bilingual is pretty cool.”
Gill discussed her experience growing up with Deaf parents and using ASL as her first language. She also emphasized the importance of ASL and the Deaf community.
She said she hoped to share her story to dispel common misconceptions about the ASL Deaf communities.
“A lot of people think that deaf people, my parents included, are less intelligent because they are deaf, but that’s not true at all; both my parents have master’s degrees,” Gill said. “A lot of people either don’t realize that sign language was an actual language since it’s not spoken, or people assume that ASL is universal, when really there is French Sign Language, British Sign Language, etc.”
Gill said she is very excited about the minor’s availability to students, as she hopes it will raise awareness in the community. She said she hopes the new minor will provide a more structured approach to ASL courses and encourage students from all majors to engage with Deaf culture.
Featured Image: The Benjamin Building on the University of Maryland’s campus. Photo by Alexandra Townsend.