Disability Studies  (Certificate)


Challenge your views of disability through the voices of diverse, disabled cultures. Study social constructions of disability through ableist media portrayals, stereotypes, institutional abuses and exclusionary school policies by examining the lived experiences and perspectives of people with disabilities, their families and communities.



Program Description

As a vibrant and diverse area of academic study, disability studies utilizes a cross-disability, intersectional and interdisciplinary approach that views disability as a social construct and people with disabilities as a minority group. The program in disability studies draws upon diverse disciplines such as history, sociology, law, policy studies, economics, anthropology, geography, philosophy, theology, gender studies, media studies, architecture and the arts in order to understand the social, cultural and political situation of disabled cultures, or people with disabilities.

Students are critically challenged to reject simplistic definitions of disability as a restrictive, functional impairment that requires fixing or curing. Rather, students learn to identify disability as a construct that finds its meaning within cultural contexts, is central to individual and social identity, and is crucial to changing political processes and public attitudes.

This program prioritizes development of theoretical, methodological, educational and advocacy models that redefine legal, physical, policy and attitudinal barriers excluding disabled communities from society.



Certificate Map

Major/Certificate Map archive


At a Glance: program details

  • Location: Tempe campus
  • Additional Program Fee: No
  • Second Language Requirement: No


Program Requirements

Students enrolled in the BA or minor in disability studies offered by the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences are not prohibited from adding this certificate.

A student pursuing an undergraduate certificate must be enrolled as a degree-seeking student at ASU. Undergraduate certificates are not awarded prior to the award of an undergraduate degree. A student already holding an undergraduate degree may pursue an undergraduate certificate as a nondegree-seeking graduate student.







Program Contact Information

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