About CPSO

The College of Professional Studies and Outreach (CPSO) supports Gallaudet's mission by providing undergraduate, graduate, alumni, and other students with an array of personal and professional development programs and services that are designed, developed and implemented in a manner that prepares and promotes career development and advancement, and life-long learning opportunities.

Programs are specifically designed to accommodate the learning needs of busy professionals seeking to develop or adapt their skills and remain competitive in the marketplace. CPSO programs also provide direct programming and outreach services to schools, agencies and corporations that are actively engaged in the education of deaf and hard of hearing individuals and/or the provision of human services to the population. All of CPSO's programs are provided in a bilingual environment, including our online courses. The unit's offerings are developed primarily via Advisory Panels that are essentially focus groups involving national experts in specific content areas.

Providing scholarship and creative activities is at the core of our outreach programs and services. CPSO is constantly scanning the market for opportunities to develop and provide targeted professional education programs and services to identified populations. Through its conference management unit, CPSO is also now capable of supporting academic departments, programs and the university itself, in extending and enhancing the impact of research, scholarship, and creativity in a meaningful way with considerable potential impact.

CPSO not only provides professional education programs in educational leadership, business entrepreneurship, agency leadership and management, and early childhood education, it also offers an array of online, face-to-face, distance education, and hybrid professional education offerings.

Through its regional programs CPSO provides an abundance of purposeful and meaningful outreach programs and services, including leadership in a variety of domains. CPSO is also specifically designed to address the recognition and promotion of deaf heritage, the languages of deaf people, primarily through regional, national, and international outreach efforts.

The Gallaudet University Regional Centers (GURCs) bring the resources and expertise of Gallaudet University to five major regions of the United States and its territories. The GURCs are located at Flagler College in Florida (Southeast region), Johnson County Community College in Kansas (Midwest region), Kapi`olani Community College in Hawaii (Pacific region), Northern Essex Community College in Massachusetts (Northeast region), and Ohlone College in California (Western region).

Through the GURCs, Gallaudet University offers extension courses, training workshops, consultation services, conferences and technical assistance. The GURCs also host the regional High School Academic Bowl competitions that culminate in the National Academic Bowl competition sponsored by Gallaudet which serves as powerful recruitment and enrollment tool for Gallaudet. They address the educational, transition, and professional development needs of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, their families, and the professionals who work with them.

Gallaudet University has a congressional mandate to develop and evaluate innovative curricula, instructional techniques, strategies and materials, and disseminate them nationwide, thus the GURCs are part of CPSO. By working with the GURCs and their networks, the College of Professional Studies and Outreach promotes collaborative relationships with programs and schools in the GURC regions.