BSL and Deaf Studies
BSL and Deaf Studies at the University of Central Lancashire has great heritage with nearly 30 years of teaching. It is estimated that more than 60% of BSL/English interpreters working in the UK have been taught at the University.
British Sign Language (BSL), sign linguistics and deaf studies at the University of Central Lancashire have long been recognised for world-leading research, continuous top student satisfaction rates and pioneering work on the development of employability skills.
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Book an Open DayWhy choose us?
- It is estimated that more than 60% of British Sign Language/ English interpreters working in the UK have been taught on our courses.
- The University of Central Lancashire celebrated 25 years of teaching British Sign Language and Deaf Studies in 2018.
- Staff include Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Lynne Barnes, who was awarded for her work in BSL and Deaf Studies.
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Monthly Staff Spotlight - Dr Lynne Barnes
Lynne has recently been awarded the NADP Lifetime Achievement Award. Each year the National Association of Disability Practitioners, NADP, recognises one individual in the disability and inclusivity field for their sustained contribution to making a really positive difference to the experiences of disabled students and/or disabled staff in higher or further education.
SignTeach Online
SignTeach Online is a European project of which the BSL and Deaf Studies team at UCLan are the Lead Partner. This project is funded by the Erasmus+ program and involves 7 partners from 7 EU countries. This project, SignTeach Online is both developed and intended for sign language teachers.
Because of Covid-19, sign language teachers, like others, had to switch to distance learning in 2020. How was that done? What were the challenges? What worked, what did not work? These are the questions we will answer together by posting good examples, interviews, podcasts and more on the project's website.
Deaf Museums Project - (Oct 2020 – Mar 2023)
The Deaf Museums Project is an Erasmus+ Project, funded by the EU. We are a consortium of people from 7 organisations in 6 European countries. We believe it's important to preserve, protect and display Deaf Heritage and Deaf History. This helps us to understand Deaf people’s lives, culture, and world.
Our Deaf Museums website shows the exhibitions created by the project partners. It holds vast resources about Deaf museums and explains what we did and why we did it. We have also produced a basic course in museum skills: a ‘cookbook’ for people who want to help preserve the Deaf Heritage.
Our exhibition is both a physical and an online exhibition. It covers three overarching themes Deaf Access, Deaf Workplace and Deaf Space. The exhibition looks across three timelines of the past, present and future. As we explore what life used to be like for Deaf people, what it is like now and what it might look like in the future.
What can I do with a BSL qualification?
Graduates from our undergraduate BSL and Deaf Studies programmes enter a variety of careers:
- BSL/English interpreters (freelance and agency)
- Deaf welfare organisation worker
- Interpreter in the media
- Educational support workers
- Police approved interpreter
- Social workers
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