The research priorities of the University reflect the institution's unique responsibility and commitment to encourage and support research and scholarship that aims to benefit the diversity of the Deaf and hard of hearing population on campus, across the United States, and internationally. The thirteen priorities below are the result of a collaborative process involving many individuals within the Gallaudet community. The order of listing is not intended to indicate the relative importance of the priority.
The status and impact of current practices and policies related to the education, professional and technical training, and career preparation of d/Deaf, hard of hearing, and Deafblind people through the lifespan, from birth through postgraduate education and beyond aimed at the development of evidence-based best practices and policies.
Diversity within and between d/Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind communities, including underserved populations, as represented through the arts, humanities, and allied fields, demographic studies, and genetics, along with ethical and policy issues surrounding these manifestations of diversity.
Accessibility for d/Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind people in the workplace and in society at large as made possible by a wide range of technologies in several domains including but not limited to telecommunications, captioning, robotics, avatars, speech/sign recognition, and ergonomics.
The subjective experience of living as a d/Deaf, hard of hearing or Deafblind individual as understood through a variety of methodologies used in the fields of biology, psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, political science, history and philosophy, among others.
The relationship between linguistic and cognitive phenomena and the underlying physical substrate of the brain in d/Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind individuals as studied through the processing of visual, tactile and auditory stimuli in multiple contexts, including language development and learning throughout the lifespan.