Undergraduate
Bachelor's Degree Programs
American Sign Language/English Interpreting
Major in American Sign Language/English 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.
Students completing the ASL/English Interpreting B.S. 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.
- 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.
Admission to the American Sign Language/English Interpreting major requires students to meet the following criteria:
- a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher
- second year proficiency in American Sign Language or its equivalent (completion of ASL-A 212 at IUPUI)
- completion of any first or second year ASL courses or its equivalent with a B or higher
- successful completion of a screening process including proof of a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher from transcripts of all post-secondary schools, GPA of all ASL courses of 3.0 or higher and GPA all English courses of 3.0 or higher, a letter of intent, a video sample of ASL production skills and an interview with a committee that includes outside members of the Deaf and interpreting communities.
The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in American Sign Language/English Interpreting (ASL) requires satisfactory completion of the following:
- A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a B.S. degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C) is required for graduation.
- A minimum of 26 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to IUPUI.
- A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework must be completed in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
- A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each major course.
- Once a course has been applied toward one requirement, it cannot be used to satisfy a second requirement, except where explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, except in cases of variable title courses, internships, and other special courses, no course will be counted more than once toward graduation.
IUPUI General Education Core
A list of accepted courses in the IUPUI General Education Core can be found at General Education Core.
Core Communication (6 credits)
- ENG-W 131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 credits) or ENG-W 140: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry: Honors (3 credits) completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) sections of ENG-G 131 have been designated for students whose first language is not English.
- COMM-R 110: Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)
Analytical Reasoning (6 credits)
- College math from List A (3 credits)
- List A or List B (3 credits)
Cultural Understanding (3 credits)
- A world language course is recommended
Life and Physical Sciences (6 credits)
- A laboratory science component is required
Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (9 credits)
- Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
- Social Science (3 credits)
- Additional Arts & Humanities or Social Science (3 credits)
Transfer students entering IUPUI from another public university in Indiana who have completed the transferable general education core at their home campus will not need to complete the IUPUI General Education Core.
Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies
First-Year Experience (1-3 credits)
- SLA-S 100: First Year Success Seminar
- Other: First Year Seminar from another school at IUPUI
Transfer students with 18 or more credit hours are not required to take this course.
Writing Proficiency (3 credits), completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher, chosen from the following:
- ENG-W 230: Writing in the Sciences
- ENG-W 231: Professional Writing Skills
- ENG-W 270: Argumentative Writing
Transfer students may satisfy the writing proficiency by completing course work equivalent to ENG-W 231, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 270, or GEWR-UN 200 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher at another campus or institution.
Transfer students with 80 or more transfer credits may petition for exemption from the Writing Proficiency requirement. Petition available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401.
Analytical Proficiency (3 credits), chosen from the following:
- ECON-E 270: Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business
- PHIL-P 208: Causality and Evidence
- PHIL-P 265: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
- PHIL-P 365: Intermediate Symbolic Logic
- POLS-Y 205: Analyzing Politics
- SOC-R 359: Introduction to Sociological Stats
Analytical Proficiency is in addition to the Analytical Reasoning area in the IUPUI General Education Core. Analytical Proficiency courses may be shared with major requirements if applicable.
Life and Physical Sciences Laboratory
One laboratory science course is required, but may be part of the coursework taken in the IUPUI General Education Core.
Arts and Humanities (3 credits) Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement
100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines
- Africana Studies (AFRO)
- American Studies (AMST)
- American Sign Language (ASL) excluding World Languages courses
- Classics (CLAS) excluding World Languages courses
- Communication Studies (COMM-R, excluding COMM R-110, and COMM-T only)
- East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) excluding World Language courses
- English-Creative Writing or Writing and Literacy (ENG-W), excluding courses in the Writing Proficiency area.
- English Literature (ENG-L)
- Film Studies (FILM)
- Folklore (FOLK) excluding FOLK-F 101
- German (GER), excluding World Language courses
- History (HIST) excluding HIST H105, HIST H106, HIST H108, HIST H109, HIST H113, HIST H114
- Latino Studies (LATS)
- Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS)
- Museum Studies (MSTD)
- Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
- Philosophy (PHIL)
- Religious Studies (REL)
- Spanish (SPAN) excluding World Language courses
- Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WOST) excluding WOST-W 105
- World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)
Social Sciences (3 credits) Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement
100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines
- Africana Studies: (AFRO)
- Anthropology: (ANTH)
- Communication Studies: (COMM-C and COMM-M only)
- Economics: (ECON)
- English-Linguistics: (ENG-Z)
- Folklore: (FOLK)
- Geography: (GEOG)
- Global and International Studies: (INTL)
- History: (HIST) only HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
- Journalism and Public Relations: (JOUR)
- Latino Studies: (LATS)
- Medical Humanities and Health Studies(MHHS) excluding MHHS-M 201
- Native American and Indigenous Studies: (NAIS)
- Political Science: (POLS)
- Psychology: (PSY)
- Sociology: (SOC)
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST)
World Language and Perspectives (0-14 credits)
Completion of second-year proficiency in a single world language.
Second-year proficiency is demonstrated by passing the full second-year sequence of courses in a single language or completing a third or fourth-year course1
Courses in World Language and Perspectives may also satisfy General Education Core Cultural Understanding.
1 Students interested in receiving credit for lower-division language courses, see the section ‘‘Special Credit for Foreign Language Study.’’
Advanced Courses
Students are required to have 42 credit hours in 300-400 level coursework including courses in their major. Of the 42 advanced credits, 9 credit hours must be 300-400 level coursework outside the first Liberal Arts major field of study and from the School of Liberal Arts. Students seeking dual degrees are exempt from completing 9 credits hours in 300-400 level coursework outside their major and from the School of Liberal Arts.
Major Requirements(36 credits)
- 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
American Sign Language/English Interpreting Courses
Open electives
Candidates for a degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts must complete the IUPUI General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies, and the requirements of their major department. Usually, students will still need to complete additional hours in order to reach the graduation requirement of 120 credit hours. These remaining credit hours are known as open electives.
