Undergraduate
Certificate Programs
American Sign Language/English Interpreting
Certificate in American Sign Language/English Interpreting
Increasing numbers of Deaf people seek the communicative access that interpreters provide, and this access is mandated by legislators, yet there is a shortage of qualified interpreters nationally and locally. IU Indianapolis' American Sign Language (ASL)/ English Interpreting Program prepares students to become capable and flexible participants in the rewarding profession of interpreting. The ASL/ English Interpreting Program introduces students to the theory and practice of interpreting. It provides a strong foundation in language, culture, interpreting, and linguistics. Students develop their abilities in ASL and English, analyze features of ASL and English, discuss ethical issues, and perform guided practice with both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. The combination of this background with a broad liberal arts education prepares students to enter the profession of interpreting, which serves diverse populations and encompasses a wide range of subjects and settings.
Student Learning Outcomes: Students completing the ASL/English Interpreting Certificate program will achieve the following:
Knowledge
- the professional code of conduct for interpreters and use acquired abilities to move toward achieving national certification.
Understanding
- define basic concepts, terminology, processes, theories, and critical perspectives in interpreting
- describe the entire communicative situation and why fluency in the languages and the ability to know how meaning is constructed is important to interpreters.
Ability to
- use ASL and English in a range of settings and styles effectively as well as know when to use simultaneous and consecutive modes of interpreting;
- explain historical perspectives on language change, interpreting, and relations between Deaf and hearing communities;
- describe the interrelationships between language and culture in our lives;
- use linguistic and cultural knowledge to analyze and evaluate texts for the purposes of interpretation as well as assess interpreter effectiveness; and
- use interpreting as a face-to-face process that is conversational in nature; managing the cross-cultural flow of talk.
Information about admission to the Certificate program in American Sign Language/ English Interpreting (ASL) can be found on the program website here.
The Certificate program in American Sign Language/ English Interpreting (ASL) requires satisfactory completion of the following:
- Admission requires a completed Bachelor's degree,
- completion of a total of 36 credit hours, with a minimum grade of C in each course,
- contact both the department (located in CA 502L) and the School Liberal Arts Student Affairs office (located in CA 401) to complete the necessary paperwork to officially declare the certificate
Enrollment in the interpreting classes is limited to students who have been admitted to the program or have received permission from the director. All interested students should contact the Director of the program.
The following course is recommended, but not required:
- ASL-A 215: Advanced Fingerspell & Numbers in ASL (3 cr.)
Certificate Requirements:
- ASL-A 219: Deaf Community History & Culture (3 credits)
- ASL-A 221: Linguistics of American Sign Language (3 credits)
- ASL-I 250: Introduction to Interpreting (3 credits)
- ASL-I 305: Text Analysis (3 credits)
- ASL-I 361: Theory and Process of Interpreting I (3 credits)
- ASL-I 363: Theory and Process of Interpreting II (3 credits)
- ASL-I 365: Theory and Process of Interpreting III (3 credits)
- ASL-I 405: Practicum (6 credits)
- ASL-L 340: Interpreting Discourse English to ASL (3 credits)
- ASL-L 342: Interpreting Discourse ASL to English (3 credits)
- ENG-Z 205: Introduction to the English Language (3 credits) or other linguistics courses approved by the Director of the ASL/English Interpreting Program
ASL/English Interpreting Courses
