Certificate in Educating Deaf Students with Disabilities

The online Deaf Students with Disabilities (DSWD) certificate program prepares current educators, other educational professionals, and second-year graduate students seeking certification and/or state licensure in the area of special education to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing students who have disabilities. The certificate program emphasizes culturally relevant critical pedagogy as a foundation for preparing highly qualified special education teachers. The program focuses on working with the whole child, the family, and other professionals while merging content standards and CEC standards, in addition to general, bilingual, special, and deaf education pedagogy through coursework to prepare teacher candidates to work with a diverse group of children within a range of educational settings. Although completing the online certificate program for deaf students with disabilities will not result in a license, the program is designed to meet the requirements for a non-categorical special education license in DC.

Admission Requirements and Procedures

All applicants must complete the application procedures and meet the requirements for study at Gallaudet University. Interested applicants should submit a Professional Studies Certificate Program application at the Gallaudet Application Portal.

The program admission requirements are:

• BA/BS degree in education or related field, with a minimum 3.0-grade point average (on a four-point scale) in undergraduate coursework. (Occasionally, applicants with a GPA lower than 3.0 may be admitted conditionally upon the recommendation of the department.)
• Submit official transcripts of all undergraduate study, including evidence of having received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
• Those applying during their final undergraduate year will be required to submit a final transcript after completion of their bachelor’s degree and before enrolling in their first semester of study
• One letter of reference from a supervisor indicating proof of working with children in an academic environment during the program.
• An introductory course about individuals with disabilities and the characteristics of disabilities (equivalent to EDU 670 in the GU Department of Education)
• ASL skills are preferred, but not required