The Program
Description
The Certificate in Professional Translation and Interpreting is 100% online and it was designed for students with high proficiency in English and at least one spoken Language Other Than English (LOTE) who are interested in developing language mediation skills to meet the needs of an increasingly globalized world. The demand for translation and interpreting has never been higher in a range of settings, including business, diplomacy, government, legal, healthcare, public service, schools, and many more.
Our online certificate is 15 credits (5 courses or more) and may be completed in one year. However, students can take longer to complete the program or simply take individual courses without committing to the entire certificate in order to meet their needs for continuing education.
All courses are multilingual, which means students will always have classmates from different languages and cultures in the same online classroom. Online discussions, writing assignments, quizzes are all in English; and students' translation and interpreting assignments are reviewed by language reviewers in the students' language pairs (i.e., English-Spanish; English-Mandarin; English-Arabic; etc). In addition to providing important perspectives regarding different linguistic and cultural strategies and techniques for translation and interpreting, the multilingual classroom is seen as an asset to the educational environment and to developing intercultural awareness.
- Minimum educational requirement: high-school diploma
- Minimum language proficiency requirement: High or Superior (please review our Certificate Guidelines for accepted evidence of language proficiency).
Enrollment/Application
All students must fill out an application form before being accepted into the program.
Employment
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "employment of interpreters and translators is expected to grow 18% from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations." With a certificate in translation and interpreting, graduates can work as independent contractors, staff translators or interpreters in different companies and institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations, subcontractors for different translation and interpreting agencies, among other options. Some job titles include:
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Manager of Interpreter Services
- Language Services Manager
- Medical or Healthcare Interpreter
- Linguist
- Cultural Mediator
- Cultural and Bilingual Liaison
- Project Manager
Courses
Students can select any course to total 15 credits.
| Course # |
Name |
Credits |
| LLC401 |
Introduction to Translation |
3 |
| LLC402 |
Fundamentals of Interpreting |
3 |
| LLC501 |
Translation & Interp Ethics & Standards |
3 |
| LLC502 |
Interpreting Skills Development |
3 |
| LLC510 |
Legal Interpreting |
3 |
| LLC511 |
Interpreting in Mental Health |
2 |
| LLC512 |
Simultaneous Interpreting |
3 |
| Complit 551 |
Translation & Technology |
3 |
| LLC552 |
Medical Interpreting |
3 |
| LLC553 |
Audiovisual Translation |
2 |
| LLC554 |
CAT Tools for Translators |
3 |
| LLC561 |
Career Dev for Translators & Interpreters |
1 |
| LLC562 |
Technology for Interpreters |
1 |
Courses from other departments, programs, and disciplines
With permission from program director, students can take a maximum of 3 credits from any of the university's current offerings (online/UWW courses) to meet their needs to specialize in a certain field of translation and/or interpreting.
Our FAQs above provide useful information about the profession, cost of the program, the difference between certificate and certification, and much more.