Admission Requirements

Following La Salle University’s general admissions standards for graduate programs in liberal arts, candidates for the M.A. in Translation and Interpretation: English-Spanish/Spanish-English, must meet the following minimum requirements:

  • An undergraduate degree. Either a B.A. or a B.S. is possible, but a B.A. is preferred because it usually indicates interest and training in areas relevant to the M.A. in Translation and Interpretation content and orientation
  • A GPA of at least 3.0 as an undergraduate is desirable.
  • An acceptable score in either the Miller’s Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). (This requirement may be waived for those applicants that already hold an advanced degree. Proof of an advanced degree will be required (official transcript). This requirement may also be waived for those applicants with an undergraduate GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.5 or better.)
  • Two letters of recommendation from professors at the college level. If the applicant has been “out of school” for more than 2 years, the letters of recommendation may be provided by current or past supervisors at his/her place of professional employment.
  • The applicant’s professional resume must be provided.
  • Evidence of an “Advanced” Level in Spanish. This may be determined in a variety of ways and will be left to the discretion of the Program Director. Some typical indicators are: as an undergraduate, a Spanish Major, Minor, or Double Major with GPA in Spanish above 3.0; working experience as a translator/interpreter, bilingual competency despite the lack of academic credits specifically in language courses; successful completion (evidenced by official transcript) of studies in a Spanish-speaking country at the University level (grading system will be comparable, and the level expected is “notable” or higher = B or greater). Finally, demonstrated language skills with Spanish and English as determined, through an interview, by the Director of the program. All students will be interviewed by the Director or the Academic Advisor, or both, for language assessment purposes. Inability to show sufficient linguistic competency with the English/Spanish language pair will result in a “no admission” decision irrespective of academic achievement up to that point.

It is preferable (but not required) that candidates for admission to the M.A. in Translation and Interpretation have done some kind of work, voluntary or compensated, in a setting involving intercultural interaction. Typical kinds of experience are community-oriented outreach, hospital volunteering, undergraduate internship at a place where Spanish is spoken or written as part of the normal routine, part/full time work in a school, business, law firm or clinic/hospital where Spanish was used routinely by the applicant.

The program is also intended to serve working professionals who may have already had formal experience in one of the areas of specialization (legal, healthcare and business Spanish). For these individuals the letters of recommendation required should come from past or present employers.