---
title: Is an American Sign Language degree worth the debt?
cip: 1616
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an American Sign Language degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **19** colleges (19 of 19 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $31,687 ($33,186 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $27,552–$34,122 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $31,687 | $23,500 | 0.68× | 19 | 19/19 |

## Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gallaudet University (DC) | $40,225 | $23,500 |
| Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $39,583 | $27,000 |
| Lamar University (TX) | $37,816 | $22,856 |
| Liberty University (VA) | $35,141 | — |
| St Catherine University (MN) | $34,409 | — |
| Madonna University (MI) | $33,834 | — |
| Keuka College (NY) | $33,419 | $23,250 |
| Siena Heights University (MI) | $33,015 | $16,730 |
| Kent State University at Kent (OH) | $32,146 | $29,390 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) | $31,687 | $24,584 |
| William Woods University (MO) | $29,826 | $18,197 |
| Columbia College Chicago (IL) | $28,692 | $26,000 |
| Utah Valley University (UT) | $28,368 | $16,385 |
| Western Oregon University (OR) | $27,834 | $23,500 |
| University of North Florida (FL) | $27,270 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/american-sign-language.jsonld` · `/education/fields/american-sign-language.json`