Penn Arts and Sciences High School Programs American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Online Seminar

In 2026 the seminar met live on Zoom twice every weekday, from 11 a.m. to noon and again from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, across the two weeks from 13 to 24 July 2026. Penn also expected roughly 10 hours of asynchronous (self-paced) work spread over the session, and you have to take part in both the live and the self-paced parts to earn the certificate.

The ASL classes use no spoken English, so you'll be watching and signing on camera from the start. Because the times are fixed in Eastern Time, a student in Europe or Asia should check what they mean locally before applying. Penn's minimum setup is a computer with at least 8GB of RAM and a connection of 1.5 Mbps download and 750 Kbps upload, and instructors contact you through a Penn email account you set up after enrolling.

Penn names Jami Fisher as the program director. She has been Penn's American Sign Language Program Director and a senior lecturer in foreign languages in its Department of Linguistics since 2005, and she's a native ASL user and CODA (child of Deaf adults) who grew up in Philadelphia. She holds a BA from Colby College and a master's and doctorate in education from Penn, and her current work focuses on community-based activities in ASL and Deaf studies courses and on documenting the Philadelphia variety of ASL.

The weekly culture seminar also brings in a panel of Deaf community professionals. Penn doesn't publish a class size or say who leads each day's session.

You leave with a certificate of completion, which Penn's High School Programs office sends as a digital copy when you ask for it. Online Seminars carry no college credit and no official university transcript. What you really take away is a beginner's footing in ASL, and Penn's stated outcomes are that you'll be able to:

• Share personal information such as your hometown, language background, how you get around and your hobbies.
• Describe where things are inside a building and give directions, using perspective shift and directional vocabulary.
• Say what you want or need and ask or tell where to get it.
• Be more aware of the cultural values and topics that matter to Deaf community members, so you can better understand and connect with them now and in the future.

For summer 2026 the seminar was open to current 9th to 11th graders, so graduating seniors weren't eligible, while international students were welcome and needed no visa because it runs online. Penn says a successful applicant should have at least a 3.5 high school GPA, writing that shows technical skill and intellectual depth, strong recommendations and a range of extracurricular interests.

Admission is rolling until the program is full, and completed applications are reviewed in the order they arrive, with decisions taking up to six weeks. Penn publishes no cohort size or acceptance rate. The 2026 application, which you had to submit yourself and not through a parent or counselor, asked for:

• Essays

  Two essays of up to 400 words each, one on why this program and how it fits your goals, and one on two non-academic activities and how they've helped you grow.

• Transcript

  Your full transcript from the previous school year, official or unofficial, in English or with an official translation.

• Recommendation

  One letter from an adult who knows your work, written on their organization's letterhead and naming this program.

• English proficiency

  Non-native English speakers write a third essay on their English education and submit a TOEFL iBT score of 100, IELTS 7 or Duolingo English Test 130. Students who will have attended an English-medium school for at least two years by enrollment can be eligible for a waiver.

A place in 2026 cost $3,050 in total, made up of $2,950 tuition covering all program fees and a nonrefundable $100 application fee. Once admitted, you held your seat by paying a $1,500 deposit, which counts toward the tuition but is never refunded and can't be moved to another Penn program. The balance was billed through PennPay and due by the date on the bill, with a 1.5% penalty added to any amount paid late.

Everything except the deposit was refundable until 15 May if you withdrew in writing by email. That cutoff came before the 1 June application deadline, so a student admitted after 15 May couldn't get any money back by withdrawing. Penn also doesn't lower the price for joining late or leaving early.

Penn offers no financial aid, although 529 college savings accounts can be used. The exception is for Philadelphia residents at a School District of Philadelphia public or charter high school, who may attend an Online Seminar free with one of a limited number of scholarships. They have the application fee waived and apply by completing the scholarship section of the application. A student can receive a scholarship for only one program, and there are none for international students or students at other schools.