The Accessibility Studies Minor provides an interdisciplinary opportunity to learn about the challenges facing people with disabilities and limitations, estimated to be nearly a fifth of the population. The Accessibility Studies Minor documents the graduate’s demonstration of competence in recognizing where, when, and how to accommodate such needs. Competence includes facilitating accessible transitions and employment for people with disabilities and limitations, approached from different perspectives of employers, social service agencies, commercial enterprises, and the people requiring access themselves. This competence is attractive to employers who must all comply with legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, intended to protect entitlement to activities of independent living in all environments- work, home, school, shopping, medical, leisure, and virtual.
Accessibility Studies add practical depth to all pre-professional degrees, such as Business Administration; Human Resource Management; Supply Chain Management; Marketing; Public Policy; Non-Profit Organization Management; Public Health; Social Services; Safety and Health Management; Recreation and Tourism; Family and Child Life; Web Design and Management; Physical Rehabilitation Therapy; Paramedicine; Emergency Medical Technician; Communication; Graphic Design; Professional and Creative Writing; American Sign Language; Theatre Art Design and Production; Museum Studies; Anthropology; Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Sciences; Applied Computer Science; Law and Justice; Psychology; Library Information Science; Instructional Foundations.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the program requires an application approved by the Accessibility Studies Program. There are no prerequisites for the introductory course, ASP 305 Accessibility and User Experience.
Graduation Requirements
Successful completion of required courses with a minimum of C in all courses.
Program Requirements
The minor degree in Accessibility Studies requires the four core courses of 15 credits plus an additional 5 credits of program-approved electives in application and issues courses.
The minor requires a capstone course in which the student investigates a real-world context and designs a practical solution to an accessibility problem for that context. The placement must be approved as part of the capstone project approval. Placement is flexible, e.g. via an ASP internship or practicum or independently arranged without additional credit. Completion of the capstone also includes public presentation, which although flexible must also be arranged through and approved by ASP faculty.