Program Description
The Certificate in Interpretation addresses the legal, healthcare, and business environments.
The program consists of six courses (3 credits each) to be taken in a predetermined fashion. Therefore, a total of 18 credits is required to complete the certificate.
Mission
The mission of the Certificate in Interpretation program is to serve the interpretation needs of Hispanics in the Philadelphia region and beyond in legal, healthcare, and business environments.
Program Goals
- Offer credits representing academic achievement.
- Educate individuals for multi-competency employment.
- Keep pace with the need for linguistic specialists.
- Enhance students’ linguistic competence in Spanish and English and cultural awareness of contrasting elements between the dominant culture and those cultures of various Hispanic groups.
- Add La Salle University and its students to the national educational community of Translation and Interpretation Studies.
Program Specific Information
All courses are offered in the evenings. All courses (Fall and Spring) require a minimum of three hours of class time per week. The Fall and Spring semesters have a 14-week duration. Summer sessions have a 5.5-week duration and require a minimum of six hours of class time per week.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this certificate, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the relatively new concept of Interpretation Studies by reading informed criticism in the theoretical field, thereby contextualizing the discipline in general terms.
- Develop and demonstrate the same level of proficiency as educated native speakers of Spanish and English and transfer messages from one language to another accurately and fluently.
- Demonstrate expertise in consecutive and simultaneous interpreting and sight translation, in the legal, healthcare, and business fields.
- Recognize and apply the standards of court, healthcare, or conference interpreters, as established by nationally-recognized associations in those fields, including a foundation in the standards of ethics and practice in respective areas.
- Develop awareness of current issues in interpreting studies and practice, and of the importance of professionalizing this occupation as well as educating the public on the importance of and methods for using professional interpreters.
- Apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life working environments through guest speakers, on-site visits, and in-class simulations.
- Identify ways to continue learning on their own by the use of self-assessment techniques and reflective practice skills.
- Develop and enhance their linguistic competence and cultural awareness.
Academic Requirements
There are six (6) courses, three (3) credits each, and all are required, for a total of 18 credits. The minimum grade point average required for certification is 3.0, and the time limit for completion of all courses is four years. The recommended pace is one to two courses per semester/summer session so as to finish in four to six semesters/summer sessions, but the actual pace may be individually driven within the limits set.
Course Sequence
The required courses and recommended sequence are as follows:
Plan of Study Grid
| First Year |
|---|
| First Semester |
|---|
| BLS 610 |
Comparative Analysis English/Spanish |
3 |
| BLS 617 |
Technology: Applications in Translation and Interpretation |
3 |
| | Credits | 6 |
| Second Semester |
|---|
| BLS 612 |
Consecutive Interpretation and Sight Translation |
3 |
| BLS 614 |
Legal Interpretation |
3 |
| | Credits | 6 |
| Third Semester |
|---|
| BLS 615 |
Health-Care Interpretation |
3 |
| BLS 616 |
Business Interpretation |
3 |
| | Credits | 6 |
| | Total Credits | 18 |
Courses
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| BLS 610 | Comparative Analysis English/Spanish | 3 |
| BLS 612 | Consecutive Interpretation and Sight Translation | 3 |
| BLS 614 | Legal Interpretation | 3 |
| BLS 615 | Health-Care Interpretation | 3 |
| BLS 616 | Business Interpretation | 3 |
| BLS 617 | Technology: Applications in Translation and Interpretation | 3 |
Course Descriptions
All course descriptions may be found in the main menu under Graduate > Courses: A-Z.
Faculty
Full: Ketz
Associate Professors: Biehl, Gomez, Ossa
Lecturers: Ezquerra-Hasbun, Fischetti, Hain-Poorman, Natalini, Tellez
Program Contact Information
Hayman Hall, room 128
hispanicinstitute@lasalle.edu
(215) 991-3592
Staff Contact Information
J. Manuel Gomez, Ph.D.
Director
Hayman Hall, room 128
hispanicinstitute@lasalle.edu
(215) 951-1209