Medical Interpreting Certificate | Interpreting Studies Certificate
Medical Interpreting Certificate (online course offered spring semester)
DESCRIPTION
This program is intended for UMass undergraduates, graduates, and non-affiliated professionals. Students learn how to interpret for both patients and for health care providers in a medical setting. Skills covered include medical terminology, word derivations abbreviations, memory retention, note-taking, standards of practice, ethics, and multicultural problem-solving. This class is multilingual, with most major languages offered.
Registration opens Nov. 12, 2009. The first 25 students to register will be admitted; please be advised that the class fills quickly. The class is open to interpreters, translators, bilingual health workers, nurses, doctors, hospital administrators, therapists, social workers, and anyone interested in improving the quality of bilingual health care.
REQUIREMENTS
Requirements include an advanced knowledge of one language other than English, a general knowledge of scientific concepts, and the desire to improve interpreting skills. If we feel that your language skills are not sufficient to pass the course, you may drop the course in the first two weeks and receive a full refund.
COST AND ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
The cost for the course $350 per credit plus a $45 registration fee, or a total of $1095. To register online call Continuing Education at (413) 545-3653 or register online at http://www.umass.edu/contined/. The course number is CompLit 552. Students passing the course will receive a certificate in Medical Interpreting issued by the Translation Center and are eligible for either 3 hours of academic credit and/or 3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Interpreting Studies Certificate
DESCRIPTION
This program is intended for UMass undergraduates, although graduate students and non-students are welcome to apply as well. It is an introduction to the theory and practice of language interpreting, and open to any language pair. Students will learn about the history of interpreting, modes and theoretical models, ethics and standards, as well as skills & techniques to work as interpreters in a variety of settings. This program is not a certification (no such thing exists in the United States except for court interpreters in a few languages and ASL interpreters), but serves as basic preparation for future studies and work in the field.
REQUIREMENTS
To receive the certificate program in Interpreter Studies, students must complete the following courses: six courses or 18 credits; two courses are taken in each of the following three areas: interpreting, English, and at least one foreign language.
A. Interpreting Studies—INTERPRT 481 and 482 (also listed as FRENCH 481 and 482).
B. English—two courses (300 level or above) selected from English, American studies, communication, linguistics, journalism, political science, economics, business, history, etc. Courses must include a writing component in English.
C. Foreign Language—two courses (300 level or above) in at least one language other than English. These are advanced foreign language courses in language, literature, culture, translation, composition, business, or communication. Residency abroad for at least one semester is optional and can replace one of the two courses required in languages other than English. In addition to language study, it is possible to pursue a semester of study at the Interpreter’s School of Zurich (DOZ).
ENROLLMENT AND INFORMATION
To enroll in Interpreting I students must have already achieved fluency in the language(s) with which they will work; residency or study abroad is highly recommended before enrolling. If the language with which a student will work is not taught at UMass, the student is responsible for finding a “sponsor” to help grade assignments in that language. Students must complete Interpreting I and receive a grade of B or better before taking Interpreting II. Enrollment in the Interpreting courses is through SPIRE; the courses are cross-listed in the French Department and Interpreter Studies.
For more information, contact Edwin Gentzler at gentzler@complit.umass.edu.