Best Online Associate in American Sign Language (ASL) Degree Programs
Key Takeaways
- The associate degree in American Sign Language (ASL) is an affordable way to get started on your college education.
- Many community colleges and two-year schools offer both traditional and online degree programs for students pursuing their associate degree in American Sign Language.
- Earning an online associate degree in American Sign Language can prepare you for a variety of entry level jobs in your field.
Best Online Associate in ASL for 2025
2025 Ranking Update
Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.
In our ranking of the best online associate degree in American Sign Language (ASL) degree programs, the College of Southern Idaho gained 1 position, moving to the number 2 spot.
Featured Programs
Best Online Associate in American Sign Language (ASL) Degree Programs
- #22 50 Best Community Colleges for Future Success in 2025 #3 Best Community Colleges in Texas 2025 #1 Best Online Associate in Graphic Design 2025 #2 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #3 Best Online Associate in Criminal Justice
- #4 Best Online Associate Degrees in Texas 2024
- #4 Best Online Associate's in History Degrees 2025
- #5 Best Online Associate in Education
- #5 Best Online Associate in Sociology
- #6 Best Online Associate in English 2025
- #6 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #7 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics
- #8 Best Online Associate in Computer Science Degree Programs 2025
- #8 Best Online Associate in Mathematics 2025
- #10 Best Online Associate in Anthropology
- #10 Best Online Associate in Philosophy
- #13 Best Online Associate in Accounting 2025
- #15 Best Online Associate in Economics
- #22 Best Online Associate in Business Administration
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
10%
Student body
33K
Career Outlook for degree at Blinn College
Cost of Degree: $6,350Expenses: $18,274Starting Salary: $44,500Cost Recoup Time: 7 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryOnline Degrees
AA in American Sign Language
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2-3 years
- Format: Online
- #1 Best Online Associate in Software Development #2 Best Online Associate in Political Science 2025 #3 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics #4 Best Online Associate in Health Science Degree Programs
Other Rankings
- #5 Best Online Associate in Anthropology
- #5 Best Online Associate in Gender Studies
- #7 Best Online Associate's in History Degrees 2025
- #9 Best Online Associate Degrees in California 2025
- #10 Best Online Associate in English 2025
- #12 Best Online Associate's in General Science 2025
- #14 Best Online Associate in Entrepreneurship
- #18 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management
- #18 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #20 Best Online Associate in Sociology
Tuition + fees
$1K
Graduation
46%
Student body
29K
Career Outlook for degree at Saddleback College
Cost of Degree: $1,432Starting Salary: $46,000Online Degrees
AS in American Sign Language
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2-3 years
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Community Colleges in Idaho 2025 #3 Best Online Associate Degrees in Idaho 2025 #4 Best Online Associate in Biology #5 Best Online Associate's in Physics 2025
Other Rankings
- #6 Best Online Associate in Anthropology
- #7 Best Online Associate in Political Science 2025
- #8 Best Online Associate in Entrepreneurship
- #9 Best Online Associate in Emergency Management 2025
- #10 Best Online Associate in Economics
- #11 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management
- #11 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #13 Best Online Associate in Health Science Degree Programs
- #14 Best Online Associate's in General Science 2025
- #14 Best Online Associate's in History Degrees 2025
- #16 Best Online Associate in Mathematics 2025
- #17 Best Online Associate in Computer Science Degree Programs 2025
- #18 Best Online Associate in English 2025
- #22 Best Online Associate in Fire Science Degree Programs
- #23 Best Online Associate in Communications
- #25 Best Online Associate in Early Childhood Education
- #25 Best Online Associate in Education
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
31%
Student body
14K
Career Outlook for degree at College of Southern Idaho
Cost of Degree: $4,560Expenses: $11,188Starting Salary: $33,700Cost Recoup Time: 6 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryOnline Degrees
AA in American Sign Language
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2 years
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Online Associate in French Degree Programs #12 Best Online Associate Degrees in California 2025 #15 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management #15 Best Online Associate in Business Management
Tuition + fees
$1K
Graduation
27%
Student body
42K
Career Outlook for degree at American River College
Cost of Degree: $1,288Starting Salary: $38,100Online Degrees
AA in Language Studies
Concentrations
- American Sign Language
- Required Credits: 18
- Completion time: 2-3 years
- Format: Online
American Sign Language (ASL) Degrees
Earning an associate degree in American Sign Language can prepare you for an entry-level position in sign language interpretation, deaf, educational interpreting, and more.
Back to TopStudents have the option to take ASL courses online or on campus, and can typically complete the ASL program in two years.
Back to TopAmong the required 60 credits, American Sign Language students will take sign language courses as well as courses on Deaf Culture, Deaf Education, and Sign Language Interpreting.
Back to TopStudents who earn an associate degree in sign language will qualify to work as sign language interpreters, translators, student aids, or advocates for learners in the hearing impaired and deaf community. You may also go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or National interpreter certification. Courses in Advanced American Sign Language can prepare you for roles in English interpreting, Collegiate interpreter education, and in a wide range of service and education roles in the deaf community. The Associate degree programs in ASL offer an affordable way to get started on your education and career in sign language.
Back to TopOnline Degree Frequently Asked Questions
If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?
If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.
In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.
Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.
Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.
As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.
In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).
While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Resources for Online College-Bound Students
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.