The students at Gallaudet University in Washington are changing perceptions about the deaf.
All of Gallaudet’s academic programs are designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing graduate and undergraduate students, who arrive on campus from 52 countries, including Pakistan, Botswana, Malaysia, Argentina and Iran.
Krishneer Sen, an information-technology major from Suva, Fiji, appreciates the diverse student body at Gallaudet. “One of my teachers is the first deaf woman to get her Ph.D. in computer science,” he says. “We have a gay and lesbian community, which is very strong here, black, Latino — all of these diverse groups. I like that. [The school] also includes hearing people, hard-of-hearing people, as well as deaf.”
Sen attended Gallaudet through a scholarship sponsored by Japan’s Nippon Foundation, which selects Gallaudet students with the potential to become international leaders. After graduation, Sen plans to return home and start a program to benefit the deaf community there.
Most of Gallaudet’s graduate programs train students in professional services for the deaf and hard of hearing. Geo Kartheiser, a graduate student in the educational neuroscience program, won a National Institutes of Health fellowship for his research on how sign-language learning can give insight into the structure and functions of the human brain.
Located less than 2 miles from the U.S. Capitol, Gallaudet is federally chartered, private and nonprofit. Since 1869, it is the only university whose every diploma is signed by the president of the United States.
The U.S. offers a wide array of educational opportunities like Gallaudet’s. You can find more information about the U.S. education that’s right for you at Education USA and other ShareAmerica articles about Study in the USA.
