Due to the relatively small number of deaf students enrolled in higher education, this study aimed to look at learning conditions at that educational level. Seven deaf college students, aged 22-39, participated in the research study. Data was collected through successive individual interviews, in person or by internet, using Portuguese language in spoken or written form or through the manual alphabet with the help of an interpreter. Ten in-person interviews were conducted, which were recorded and transcribed, and eleven were done using e-mail and Messenger®. The reports were analyzed under the socio-anthropological reference that understands the deaf as people who are linguistically and culturally different, belonging to minority groups and who, usually, attend standard hearing-oriented schools. The results show that deaf college students face difficulties, impairments, abandonment and rejection in higher education. They are required to take on the responsibility for their own learning, which includes after-class sessions to compensate for low grades. The school is organized according to the interests and needs of hearing students, i.e. there is no shared language for deaf students; there is no Portuguese-LIBRAS (Brazilian Signal Language) interpreter; there is no bicultural context; there is no dialogue at school. In conclusion, deaf people are capable, productive, characterized by solidarity and interested in advancing in their educational processes, despite the barriers they face daily in the university environment.
deafness; higher education; linguistic community; special education