·Private·Est. 1864
“The world's only liberal-arts university designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, taught bilingually in ASL and English.”
Gallaudet University is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., founded in 1864 by an act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln, making it the world's only liberal-arts university where every program and service is designed for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and DeafBlind students. Instruction is fully bilingual in American Sign Language (ASL) and written English, and the campus operates as an immersive ASL-English signing environment — from classrooms and residence halls to the cafeteria, library, and athletic facilities. With around 1,400 students enrolled across five schools (Language, Education and Culture; Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics and Public Health (STAMP); Civic Leadership, Business and Social Change; Human Services and Sciences; and Arts and Humanities), Gallaudet offers more than 60 areas of study at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, plus a hearing-student Bachelor of Arts in Interpretation that trains future ASL-English interpreters. For international deaf students, Gallaudet is one of the few places in the world where being deaf is the norm rather than the exception. Roughly 15% of undergraduates come from outside the United States, representing more than 40 countries, and the university actively recruits and supports deaf international students through ISSS, the World Deaf Leadership (Nippon Foundation), Sasakawa International, and dedicated International Student scholarships. The campus is located in northeast Washington, D.C., putting students within minutes of the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian museums, federal agencies, and the world's largest concentration of deaf-related public-policy organizations — an environment that no other university in the world can replicate.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Required — All applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores.
Official SourceThe deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Houses Gallaudet's signature ASL, deaf studies, education, linguistics, and interpretation programs and prepares teachers, interpreters, and language scholars to serve deaf communities worldwide.
Brings together STEM and public health under an accessibility-first lens, with research strengths in deaf-friendly technology, biology, mathematics, IT, and public health.
Trains future business leaders and changemakers from deaf communities, leveraging Gallaudet's location in the U.S. capital for policy and government engagement.
Focuses on counseling, psychology, social work, and family and child studies with attention to mental-health needs of deaf populations.
Home to deaf theater, art, history, philosophy, and writing programs and a vibrant cultural life rooted in Deaf history and ASL literature.
4 years
Gallaudet's only undergraduate program designed primarily for hearing students, training professional ASL-English interpreters in a fully signing environment.
4 years
STAMP's flagship STEM offering — a STEM-OPT-eligible IT degree with focus areas in cybersecurity, data, and accessible computing.
5 years
First-of-its-kind doctoral program studying how visual-spatial languages and deaf brains shape learning, in collaboration with the PEN Lab.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $19,654
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
