Interpreting - BA
St. Kate's offers students a nationally recognized education in ASL-English interpretation. As an interpreter, students will need excellent analytical skills, ethical decision-making skills and communication skills, as well as in-depth cultural and linguistic knowledge. A strong liberal arts background is also crucial in order for students to develop the knowledge and competencies they will need to work in the interpreting field.
The interpreting major helps students develop a specialized ability to support communication access for the Deaf community, with the goal of passing the national interpreting certification exam. As an interpreting major, students will be constantly striving to increase their language proficiency and range, both in ASL and English. All courses students take with an ASL prefix will be taught in ASL, without the use of spoken English. Majors are also encouraged to pursue a minor in language studies and/or participate in a study abroad program to further their knowledge of language and culture.
The push for greater access for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people has increased the demand for well-educated, professional interpreters. When students graduate with a major in interpreting, they may find career opportunities in a variety of settings. Interpreters are needed in many situations, including professional meetings, prenatal classes, medical appointments, parent-teacher conferences, counseling, job interviews, concerts, theater and city council meetings. There is also a rapidly expanding job market for video relay interpreting.
While at St. Kate's, students will find many opportunities to use what they learn, both on and off campus. On campus, students may participate in the ASL Club, which organizes cultural and social events such as ASL poetry readings or theatrical performances. They may choose to live on the ASL Living Learning Community (LLC), a residence hall floor for students of ASL who wish to live in an ASL environment. Students have also participated in the Assistantship Mentoring Program as research assistants, program assistants and teaching assistants. Off campus, students have found volunteer and Community Service Learning opportunities at local Deaf schools, government agencies, theatrical venues, community organizations and political organizations. Nationally, students have attended and volunteered at conferences and internationally, they have participated in volunteer efforts in countries such as Kenya and Jamaica.
In their senior year, students will complete a community-based internship, which may take place in a variety of settings, including education, healthcare, government, non-profit, rehabilitation or human services. Interpreting students help determine their placement and have completed their internships in agencies across Minnesota as well as in Iowa, California, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Washington state and Washington D.C.
St. Kate's is a leader in interpreter education and has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration to advance interpreter education since 1999. If students are interested in a discipline that includes the study of language, culture, ethics, critical thinking and communication, interpreting may be for them!
The ability to communicate in ASL and in English is critical to both professional responsibilities and personal relationships, therefore:
A minimum grade of B- (2.667) is required for all prerequisite courses to be considered for admission into the major.
A minimum grade of B- (2.667) is required for an ASL or INTP course to be counted toward the major.
If a student does not receive a minimum grade of B- (2.667), credit toward the major may be gained only by repeating the course and not by proficiency exam. Courses may be repeated once.
See also: American Sign Language
This major is offered in the College for Women only.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ASL 2500 | Fingerspelling Lab | 1 |
| ASL 2010 | Introduction to American Deaf Culture | 4 |
| ASL 3330 | ASL Classifiers | 4 |
| INTP 2020 | Introduction to the Interpreting Profession | 2 |
| INTP 3050 | American Sign Language and English Text Analysis | 4 |
| INTP 3060 | American Sign Language/English Translation | 4 |
| INTP 3210 | Ethics and Decision-Making | 4 |
| INTP 4050 | ASL/English Interpreting I | 4 |
| INTP 4060 | ASL/English Interpreting II | 4 |
| INTP 4210W | Senior Seminar | 2 |
| INTP 4604 | Internship | 4 |
| Select at least one of the following: | 4 | |
| Conversational ASL | ||
| Healthcare Interpreting | ||
| Educational Interpreting | ||
| Total Credits | 41 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite Courses | ||
| ASL 1110 & ASL 1120 | Beginning American Sign Language I and Beginning American Sign Language II | 8 |
| ASL 2110 & ASL 2120 | Intermediate American Sign Language I and Intermediate American Sign Language II | 8 |
| ASL 3110 & ASL 3120 | Advanced American Sign Language I and Advanced American Sign Language II | 8 |
| Total Credits | 24 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Supporting Course Work 1 | ||
| Select two English courses from the following: | 8 | |
| Language in Society | ||
| Language as Power | ||
| Linguistics | ||
| PHIL 2200W | Ethics | 4 |
| THR 2140 | Acting: Leadership in Performance | 4 |
| or THR 2300 | Voice in the Workplace | |
| COMM 1020 | Interpersonal Communication (or one other course selected with a department advisor) | 4 |
| SOCI 3250 | Cultural Anthropology 2 | 4 |
| or SOCI 1000 | Principles and Concepts of Sociology | |
| Total Credits | 24 | |
| 1 | Second-degree Interpreting students do not need to complete the required supporting courses. |
| 2 | Or equivalent course to SOCI 3250 or SOCI 1000 |
Interpreting majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing INTP 4210W Senior Seminar. They complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000W The Reflective Woman or CORE 2000W The Reflective Woman, CORE 3990W Global Search for Justice, and any other writing-intensive course in another department).