Sign Language of the Netherlands

Contents of the programme

Nederlandse Gebarentaal

A language where the focus is on the hands, the body, the facial expression. It sounds contrived, but it isn’t. Sign languages are not invented at a desk or on the stage, they develop in the personal contact between people who are deaf. Although sign languages have been around for centuries, they have only recently been acknowledged as natural languages, languages that deaf children learn as their first language.

There is no universal sign language. Many countries have their own sign language, which is not derived from the spoken language and develops independently from it. In the Netherlands, the deaf community uses Dutch Sign Language, which gives the user just as many options as spoken Dutch.

You can have a heated discussion or recite a poem in sign language, just the way you can in spoken Dutch. If you do a bachelor’s in Sign Language of the Netherlands, you learn what its relation is to other languages and discover how it is used in the deaf community.

The UvA is the only university offering a bachelor’s in Sign Language of the Netherlands. Of course you learn to speak the language. You study the differences and similarities between sign language and spoken language, how deaf children learn this language and how this language varies in different social situations. And you learn to describe and analyse sign languages.

To really master the field, students need a solid foundation in linguistics in general. That is why they also take modules in linguistics. In addition, they become familiar with the culture of the deaf. They study cultural expressions in various sign languages and learn for example how to analyse a sign language poem.

During the bachelor’s programme you gain practical experience by doing a short internship at a centre for the deaf. You can also take subjects that are closely linked to this bachelor’s such as Dutch as a second language.

After completing the bachelor’s in Sign Language of the Netherlands, you will graduate as a Bachelor of Arts.

Master's programmes

After their bachelor’s, students can specialise in the one-year master’s in General Linguistics. There are various options within this master’s such as Sign Linguistics.

The UvA offers several other types of master's programmes for which graduates can apply:

• Duale masters: Professional master's programmes, which are vocationally oriented programmes at an academic level of a year and a half to two years including work experience
• Onderzoeksmasters: Two-year research master's programmes for which there is a selection procedure
• Teacher or interpreter: You can specialise and become teacher or interpreter (offered by Hogeschool Utrecht)
• Other options: You might be able to enrol in other master's programmes depending on the so-called minor courses followed during the bachelor's.

Follow the link below for a complete overview of master's programmes offered by the UvA (in Dutch).

The job market

University study programmes in language do not train for a single specific profession. Graduates can find work in the area of their specialisation, but also in other jobs demanding an independent and critical attitude.

The official recognition of Sign Language of the Netherlands will increase the demand for people who focus on it professionally. After the master’s you can work for example at a centre for deaf adults or deaf children. You can also become an adviser at schools for the deaf or write courses for the deaf.

You can also find work at institutes for deaf or hard of hearing adults and children, centres for deaf elderly people, or at institutes occupying themselves with the treatment of deaf clients with psychological or social problems.

Additional entry requirements

There are no additional entry requirements apart from the entry requirements which apply to all students (see below).

Application and admission

The application procedure for regular study programmes taught in Dutch depends on the country where you have obtained your diploma. Follow the link below for detailed information on application and admission.