Deaf Studies
CIP Code: 5.0211A deaf studies degree prepares graduates for careers in Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, Interpreters and translators. 29 colleges and universities offer this program.
Annual Degrees Awarded
398
Colleges Offering
29
Avg. Career Salary
$71,865
Top Career Salary
$84,290
Deaf Studies Salary by College
Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $51,710 four years after graduating (middle half: $34,946–$68,128). Where you study it matters: across 103 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $25,137 to $73,256.
Sort by:
| # | College | 4 yrs after | Wage-adjusted | 1 yr after | Median debt | Outcome Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA | $73,256 | $64,510 | $35,057 | $24,226 | A |
| 2 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA | $72,063 | $73,289 | $36,426 | $26,623 | A |
| 3 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | $67,291 | $61,230 | $34,559 | $15,076 | A+ |
| 4 | Yale University New Haven, CT | $65,213 | $58,713 | $32,624 | $13,107 | A+ |
| 5 | Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA | $64,701 | $56,976 | — | $25,000 | B |
| 6 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | $64,152 | $68,823 | — | — | A+ |
| 7 | Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA | $64,116 | $58,341 | $35,263 | $19,187 | B |
| 8 | American University Washington, DC | $63,553 | $55,689 | $46,206 | $25,000 | A |
| 9 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | $63,426 | $66,875 | $33,991 | $14,802 | A+ |
| 10 | University of Delaware Newark, DE | $61,443 | $61,075 | $38,124 | $24,411 | A |
| 11 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | $59,990 | $54,587 | $31,001 | $17,303 | B |
| 12 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA | $59,843 | $52,698 | — | — | C+ |
| 13 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH | $59,567 | $54,867 | $40,720 | $24,766 | B |
| 14 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | $59,461 | $52,184 | $34,777 | $16,250 | A+ |
| 15 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | $59,372 | $58,333 | $39,012 | — | A+ |
| 16 | DePaul University Chicago, IL | $59,016 | $57,983 | $18,029 | $27,000 | B+ |
| 17 | University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA | $59,004 | $53,690 | $32,341 | $13,250 | A |
| 18 | Emory University Atlanta, GA | $58,745 | $60,813 | — | $18,210 | A+ |
| 19 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA | $58,670 | $53,386 | $32,563 | $14,000 | A |
| 20 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA | $57,646 | $52,492 | $34,197 | $14,100 | A+ |
| 23 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | $57,534 | $52,919 | $31,459 | $12,551 | B+ |
| 22 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | $57,534 | $52,919 | $31,459 | $12,551 | A |
| 21 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | $57,534 | $52,919 | $31,459 | $12,551 | A |
| 24 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | $57,292 | $58,249 | $37,046 | $24,353 | A+ |
| 25 | California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA | $57,145 | $51,998 | $47,511 | $13,884 | B |
| 26 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY | $56,907 | $54,164 | $36,292 | $14,657 | C |
| 27 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | $56,880 | $52,317 | — | — | B |
| 28 | University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA | $56,555 | $51,461 | $31,443 | $22,305 | B+ |
| 29 | California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA | $56,188 | $51,127 | $30,628 | $15,000 | C+ |
| 30 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY | $56,138 | $53,432 | $32,083 | $8,625 | C+ |
| 31 | California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | $55,970 | $50,929 | $27,058 | $22,000 | C |
| 32 | University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA | $55,798 | $50,773 | $31,140 | $19,500 | B+ |
| 33 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY | $55,472 | $52,798 | $55,206 | $19,500 | A+ |
| 34 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA | $55,230 | $50,256 | $29,267 | $23,080 | B |
| 35 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | $55,208 | $50,236 | — | $17,750 | A+ |
| 38 | Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ | $55,164 | $48,417 | $30,296 | $26,000 | B+ |
| 37 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ | $55,164 | $48,417 | $30,296 | $26,000 | A |
| 36 | Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ | $55,164 | $48,417 | $30,296 | $26,000 | B+ |
| 39 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | $55,088 | $50,126 | $29,914 | $14,820 | A+ |
| 40 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | $54,897 | $49,953 | $26,868 | $23,105 | A |
| 41 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC | $54,798 | $58,806 | $37,411 | $27,750 | B |
| 42 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | $54,691 | $58,691 | $26,342 | $11,364 | A+ |
| 43 | St Olaf College Northfield, MN | $54,100 | $51,677 | $28,288 | $23,480 | B+ |
| 44 | University of Oregon Eugene, OR | $54,057 | $54,375 | — | $25,000 | B |
| 45 | University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA | $53,509 | $47,120 | $41,872 | $27,000 | C+ |
| 46 | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA | $53,319 | $48,517 | $30,984 | $24,237 | A+ |
| 47 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO | $52,747 | $49,329 | $34,906 | $22,285 | F |
| 48 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI | $51,872 | $54,693 | — | — | B |
| 49 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | $51,791 | $55,125 | $26,198 | $22,692 | A+ |
| 50 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY | $51,569 | $49,083 | $34,007 | — | B |
| 53 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ | $51,565 | $52,984 | $40,719 | $20,500 | B+ |
| 52 | University at Albany Albany, NY | $51,565 | $49,079 | $29,823 | $24,547 | B+ |
| 51 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ | $51,565 | $52,984 | $40,719 | $20,500 | B+ |
| 54 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN | $51,232 | $55,965 | — | $28,000 | C |
| 55 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | $50,941 | $50,049 | $32,856 | $21,500 | A+ |
| 56 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | $50,784 | $52,181 | $26,875 | $25,438 | B |
| 57 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY | $50,715 | $57,425 | $29,990 | $27,750 | B |
| 58 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA | $50,708 | $46,141 | $26,767 | $15,000 | C |
| 59 | Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN | $50,694 | $48,424 | — | $22,775 | C |
| 60 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA | $50,453 | $45,909 | $27,726 | $12,337 | B |
| 62 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR | $50,421 | $50,718 | — | — | B |
| 61 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR | $50,421 | $50,718 | — | — | B+ |
| 63 | Towson University Towson, MD | $50,406 | $44,237 | $32,740 | $18,618 | C+ |
| 64 | SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY | $50,030 | $47,618 | — | $26,000 | C |
| 65 | Montclair State University Montclair, NJ | $49,429 | $43,383 | — | — | C+ |
| 66 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN | $49,305 | $47,097 | $33,000 | $20,500 | A |
| 67 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | $48,934 | $50,918 | $28,841 | $19,254 | A+ |
| 72 | University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT | $48,810 | $43,945 | $39,343 | $24,711 | B+ |
| 71 | University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT | $48,810 | $43,945 | $39,343 | $24,711 | B+ |
| 70 | University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT | $48,810 | $43,945 | $39,343 | $24,711 | B+ |
| 69 | University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT | $48,810 | $43,945 | $39,343 | $24,711 | B+ |
| 68 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT | $48,810 | $43,945 | $39,343 | $24,711 | A |
| 73 | CUNY City College New York, NY | $48,637 | $46,292 | $26,973 | $20,739 | B |
| 74 | Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN | $48,572 | $52,109 | — | $17,500 | A |
| 75 | University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI | $47,880 | $43,565 | $20,109 | $18,681 | C |
| 76 | University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA | $47,471 | $43,195 | $26,712 | $18,998 | A |
| 77 | Keene State College Keene, NH | $46,990 | $43,282 | — | — | D |
| 78 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA | $46,384 | $42,206 | $25,305 | $19,500 | C+ |
| 79 | Smith College Northampton, MA | $46,136 | $40,628 | $19,105 | $18,259 | B |
| 80 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL | $46,115 | $49,084 | — | — | B+ |
| 81 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA | $46,063 | $48,453 | — | $27,000 | A |
| 82 | Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN | $45,801 | $43,750 | — | — | C+ |
| 83 | SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY | $45,729 | $43,525 | — | $23,585 | C |
| 84 | State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY | $45,563 | $43,367 | $23,751 | $22,500 | C+ |
| 85 | Stanford University Stanford, CA | $45,519 | $41,419 | $41,156 | — | A+ |
| 86 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC | $45,294 | $48,607 | $29,723 | $25,500 | C |
| 87 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | $45,253 | $44,461 | $33,366 | $16,500 | B+ |
| 88 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM | $45,139 | $52,264 | $38,260 | $20,895 | C |
| 89 | Aurora University Aurora, IL | $44,786 | $44,002 | — | — | C+ |
| 90 | Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL | $44,703 | $43,920 | — | — | F |
| 91 | Rhode Island College Providence, RI | $44,144 | $43,477 | — | $18,433 | C |
| 92 | Georgia State University Atlanta, GA | $43,975 | $45,523 | $27,932 | $26,875 | D |
| 93 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA | $43,082 | $39,202 | $40,253 | $14,936 | B+ |
| 94 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA | $43,064 | $39,185 | $30,844 | $15,000 | F |
| 95 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE | $42,635 | $44,065 | $21,836 | $17,500 | B |
| 96 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI | $42,435 | $44,156 | $29,270 | $26,000 | C+ |
| 97 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA | $42,233 | $38,457 | $29,607 | $25,998 | C |
| 98 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI | $42,073 | $44,361 | — | — | C |
| 99 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH | $40,713 | $43,447 | $31,179 | $21,563 | A |
| 100 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA | $39,449 | $40,120 | $26,260 | $26,875 | B+ |
| 101 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | $37,553 | $34,541 | $25,623 | $21,215 | B+ |
| 102 | Haskell Indian Nations University Lawrence, KS | $35,081 | $36,420 | $23,887 | — | D |
| 103 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA | $25,137 | $26,022 | $28,080 | $25,500 | B+ |
Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.
What Can You Do With a Deaf Studies Degree?
Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:
$71,865
Average Salary Across Careers
$84,290
Highest Paying Career
2
Career Paths Available
Best Colleges for Deaf Studies
Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in deaf studies.
| # | College | Location | Degrees Awarded | Repit Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | 25 | B+ |
| 2 | California State University-Northridge | Northridge, CA | 91 | B |
| 3 | Sinclair Community College | Dayton, OH | 36 | C+ |
| 4 | Ohio University-Main Campus | Athens, OH | 28 | C+ |
Largest Deaf Studies Programs
Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most deaf studies graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.
| # | College | Location | Degrees Awarded | Repit Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Northridge | Northridge, CA | 91 | B |
| 2 | Sinclair Community College | Dayton, OH | 36 | C+ |
| 3 | Ohio University-Main Campus | Athens, OH | 28 | C+ |
| 4 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | 25 | B+ |
398
Degrees Awarded Annually
29
Colleges Offering Program
2
Related Careers
About Deaf Studies
Deaf Studies is a degree program offered at 29 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 398 students graduate with this degree.
Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, interpreters and translators.
Program Classification
CIP Code
5.0211
Field (2-digit CIP)
5.
Category (4-digit CIP)
5.021
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with a Deaf Studies degree?
A Deaf Studies degree can lead to careers as a
area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, interpreters and translators,
and more.
Top earners in related careers can make up to $84,290 annually.
How many colleges offer Deaf Studies?
29 colleges and universities in the United States offer
Deaf Studies as a degree program. Each year, approximately 398
students graduate with this degree.
What are the best colleges for Deaf Studies?
The best colleges for Deaf Studies based on Repit's ratings include
California State University-Long Beach, California State University-Northridge, Sinclair Community College, Ohio University-Main Campus.
Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.
What is the salary potential with a Deaf Studies degree?
Graduates with a Deaf Studies degree can expect average salaries around $71,865
in related careers, with top earners making up to $84,290.
Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.