The demand for interpreting services in the U.S. far exceeds the supply of qualified interpreters, and the federal government estimates that job opportunities for interpreters will increase significantly faster than the average rate of job growth through 2030. The Graduate Certificate in Interpreting offers online professional training to students in any of the offered language pair. The program is designed for those who have earned an undergraduate degree, have either significant industry experience or post-graduate degrees, and are interested in language-services careers focused on interpreting.
The Graduate Certificate program is recognized by the American Translators Association as an approved Translation & Interpreting Studies program. Alumni go on to work as freelance or in-house interpreters in a broad range of areas, including legal, medical, and community interpreting.
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Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Eligibility and Admission
Applicants to the Graduate Certificate program in Interpreting must hold a bachelor’s degree with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.75. If the GPA is less than 2.75, the applicant must provide substantial evidence of ability to succeed in graduate-level work.
A degree in the applicant’s foreign language or advanced study in that language is desirable but not required. To be eligible for admission, all applicants to the certificate program must submit a reason statement and pass a qualifying examination administered by the faculty of Translation & Interpreting Studies (TIS).
Application
- Admission to a graduate certificate program requires formal student application through the Graduate School admissions application system, including the required admissions application fee.
- Certificate programs will inform the Graduate School of their admission recommendation for an applicant. The final admission decision is made by the Graduate School.
- Early application to the certificate program is recommended; late application is possible, but may incur delays for certificate conferral related to time required for credit tracking.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
Students must complete 15 credits of required courses, as follows:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses | ||
| TRNSLTN 700 | Introduction to Interpreting | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 711 | Ethics in Translation and Interpreting | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 722 | Advanced Interpreting | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 750 | Community Interpreting and Translation | 3 |
| Elective | ||
| See below regarding elective course | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Electives
In addition to the four required courses, students must complete one elective course (3 credits). In consultation with the certificate coordinator, students select their elective from among the following courses. Other courses relevant to the student’s plan of study may be used to fulfill the elective requirement with the consent of the coordinator.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| One of the following: | ||
| TRNSLTN 530G | Business and Professional Aspects of Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 706 | Introduction to Translation: French to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 707 | Introduction to Translation: Spanish to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 708 | Introduction to Translation: German to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 709 | Seminar in Literary and Cultural Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 710 | Comparative Systems for Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 716 | Seminar in Advanced Translation: French to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 717 | Seminar in Advanced Translation: Spanish to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 718 | Seminar in Advanced Translation: German to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 719 | Introduction to Translation: Russian to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 720 | Topics in Translation: | 1-3 |
| TRNSLTN 726 | Computer-Assisted Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 727 | Project Management in Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 728 | Editing for Translation | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 729 | Seminar in Advanced Translation: Russian to English | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 730 | Internship in Translation/Interpreting | 3 |
| TRNSLTN 820 | Translation Theory | 3 |
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
Certificate coursework that meets Graduate School criteria for transfer may be applied toward a Master's degree in Translation & Interpreting Studies, upon admission to the MA program.
Grade Point Average Requirement
Students must earn a B (GPA 3.0) or better in all TIS courses completed for the certificate.
Capstone Requirement
All certificate students will be required to pass a one-hour interpreting examination.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.
Translation and Interpreting Studies Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from Graduate Certificate and Master’s degree programs in Translation & Interpreting Studies (TIS) will meet objectives in five core areas of professional practice.
Knowledge – Students graduating from TIS programs will:
- Produce accurate entry-level translations and/or interpretations between their source and target languages, demonstrating understanding of the linguistic specificities of their languages.
- Integrate significant cultural, ideological, and discursive elements into their translations or interpretations between source and target cultures.
- Articulate how various translation & interpreting theories influence work produced in a range of literary and critical contexts and in the student’s own translation and/or interpreting work.
Critical Thinking – Students graduating from TIS programs will:
- Apply translation & interpreting theory to assess translated texts and interpreting encounters.
- In Translation tracks: Analyze source texts, identify their most salient features, and discuss potential strategies for rendering those features in translation.
- In Interpreting tracks: Analyze cross-cultural communication in interpreted encounters.
Skills – Students graduating from TIS programs will:
- In Translation tracks: Produce literary, specialized, and technical translations that successfully negotiate linguistic, cultural, and technical challenges.
- In Interpreting tracks: Produce interpretations in a variety of cross-cultural communication contexts, successfully negotiating linguistic, cultural, technical, and environmental challenges.
- In the professional track: Apply industry-standard principles and best practices for language services with respect to quality assurance (ISO), entrepreneurship, and project management.
- In the research track: Conduct translation & interpreting studies research, which may include bibliographic research, comparative analyses, literature reviews, literary analyses, scoping reviews, and qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods studies.
- Learn and apply ethical standards of professional practice in translation & interpreting and in the student’s area of specialization.
- Demonstrate readiness to use technology most relevant to the student’s translation and/or interpreting practice and area of specialization.
Research – Students graduating from TIS programs will:
- Produce publishable academic research papers or articles contributing to knowledge or professional development in the language services industry.
Professional Development – Students graduating from TIS programs will:
- In the professional track: Produce a resume and at least two polished translation samples or model interpretations.
- In the professional track: Produce a C.V. and one polished writing sample.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the leading professional organizations/associations in the language services field and in their area of specialization.