The American Sign Language Project, NFP

The Nicholas J. Deleonardis Scholarship of The American Sign Language Project
Posted deadline: July 1st, 2025

The goal of the Nicholas J. Deleonardis Scholarship is to encourage full-time college students to engage in research leading to noninvasive technologies that will improve communication between Deaf and hearing people.

Amount of Award
$6000

What scholarship funds may cover
Any portion of tuition, fees, or books.

Scholarship program guidelines
To be eligible, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a full-time undergraduate or full-time graduate student at an accredited four-year university or college in the United States.
• Have permanent U.S. residency
• Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent)
• Complete the entire application packet
• Propose a research project involving non-invasive technology that will improve communication between Deaf and hearing people. The project will be completed by the applicant as a part of the program requirements.

The American Sign Language Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or gender.

Relatives of current or former members of The American Sign Language Project are not eligible for the scholarship. Relatives of major contributors to The American Sign Language Project are not eligible for the scholarship.

Application materials must include

• Completed application form, which is at the end of Instructions and Application Form Document.
• Official college transcript
• A letter of recommendation (500-1000 words) from a teacher who is familiar with your academic record, skills and abilities
• Proof of permanent residency, if not a U.S. citizen
• A 3-5 page description of a proposed research project, including project goals and time line. Explain how the project fills a need not previously addressed. Include an explanation of how the research will create noninvasive technology that will facilitate better communication between Deaf and hearing people. The applicant must propose a scholarship period, which may not exceed one year. The project must be completed by the applicant during the scholarship period.
• A personal statement, no more than one page, that explains how the applicant became interested in non-invasive technology for better Deaf/hearing communication, and how the proposed project fits into the applicant’s life plan. This will help the scholarship committee get a better sense of the applicant as a person.

Selection Criteria
Applications are evaluated for the following:

• Academic achievement
• Quality of research proposal, including
• Organization
• Writing
• Feasibility of completing the proposed research within the timeline given
• Potential of the proposed research
• Qualifications to complete the research
• Commitment to facilitating better Deaf / hearing communication

A screening committee established by The American Sign Language Project will choose the scholarship recipient.

The winner agrees to allow The American Sign Language Project to use his or her name and photo, image or likeness on the corporation’s website and in public announcements and press releases about the scholarship.

Schedule Distribution
Half of the award will be distributed at the beginning of the agreed-upon scholarship period, as stated in the recipient’s project proposal. The first payment to the recipient will be sent once verification of enrollment during the scholarship period is received from the recipient’s school. The first payment will go directly to the recipient’s account at the school’s Financial Aid Office. The remaining portion of the award will be sent once the recipient’s final project report is received. The recipient must remain enrolled as a full-time student and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) during the scholarship period.

Final project report
The final project report should be 2-3 pages and describe the outcomes of the research. In the report, the recipient describes how the stated research goals were met.

Application Period, Process and Deadline
Application materials must be received no earlier than 30 days before the posted deadline and must be received by The American Sign Language Project no later than the posted deadline. Applications postmarked earlier than 30 days before the posted deadline or received after the posted deadline, as well as incomplete packets, will not be accepted.

Application materials will not be returned. Please do not send originals of important documents. The American Sign Language Project is not responsible for lost, delayed or misdelivered applications.

Scholarship Winner
The winner of The Nicholas J. Deleonardis Scholarship of The American Sign Language Project will be notified approximately six to ten weeks after the posted deadline.

The American Sign Language Project reserves the right to announce that no winner has been chosen if none of the applications meet its selection criteria.

Application Delivery Method and Address

Send applications to scholarship (at) aslproject.com .

Past Awardees

• 2009: Jerry Schnepp, DePaul University, Generating Nonmanual Signals in Synthesized ASL
• 2011: Haley Smith, Purdue University, An Analysis of Mouth Shapes in Negative and Positive Sentences in ASL
• 2013: Jessica Tran, University of Washington, Human-Centered Optimization of Mobile Sign Language Video Communication
• 2014: Marie Stumbo, DePaul University, Toward a model of coarticulation in synthesized American Sign Language
• 2019: Maria Saenz, DePaul University, A Web-Based Platform for a Multilingual Sign Language Avatar
• 2021: Sydney Marie Burkhert, University of Memphis, Dactylo: Making ASL instruction more accessible
• 2023: Nathan O. Brown, Brigham Young University, Toward a universal standard for creating ASL gloss corpora