Deaf Education

Types of Degrees Deaf Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many education of the deaf graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	117
Undergraduate Certificate	79
Bachelor’s Degree	61
Associate Degree	39
Graduate Certificate	34
Basic Certificate	15
Doctor’s Degree	5

What Deaf Education Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to deaf education were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Deaf Education Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in deaf education should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Deaf Education Majors

A major in deaf education prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Deaf Education Majors

As a deaf education major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Deaf Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with deaf education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Adapted Physical Education Specialists	9.9%	$56,680
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	7.4%	$59,390
Special Education Teachers, Middle School	7.2%	$60,250
Special Education Teachers, Preschool	11.3%	$55,840
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	7.4%	$60,600

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Education?

This major is dominated by women with about 97% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of deaf education majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	5
White	46
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Deaf Education

Some careers associated with deaf education require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to deaf education have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.1%
Some College Courses	0.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	52.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	13.8%
Master’s Degree	27.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	1.0%

Online Deaf Education Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	4	0
Bachelor’s Degree	14	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	20	7
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Deaf Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to deaf education.

Major	Number of Grads
General Special Education	22,757
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs	3,547
Elementary Special Education	1,748
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities	1,354
Other Special Education & Teaching	1,246
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism	1,132
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs	738
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities	546
Education/Teaching of the Gifted & Talented	481
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments	245
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness	193
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances	139
Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed	114
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities	80
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Junior High/Middle School Special Education Programs	79
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries	57
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic & Other Physical Health Impairments	37

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By woodleywonderworks under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.