The University’s Center for Translation Studies will be starting a new master’s program in translation and interpretation in the fall.

Elizabeth Lowe, director of the Center for Translation Studies, has been developing the program for a long time, but because the final approval did not come until February, the department has only had since then to recruit students for its first class this fall. Despite the short notice, Lowe said that the department has been receiving applicants from around the world and accepting students on a rolling schedule.

Before the new master’s program, there was an 18-credit certificate program that was available to undergraduate and graduate students. Lowe said the center plans to eventually create an undergraduate program for a major and minor in translation studies.

Lowe said that the program’s applicants hold a variety of bachelor’s degrees. She said the center prefers that applicants have a background in three different languages, one being a proficiency in English even if it is not their first language. The center encourages people from all different backgrounds to apply because of the nature of translation and interpretation; anything from legal documents to scientific procedures requires translation.  Because there are so many different fields in translation and interpretation, Lowe said the program is asking applicants to choose from three different tracks: translations for the professions; literary and applied literary translation; and conference and community interpreting.

Only a small number of jobs exist in oral interpretation, which is often misconceived to be the most emphasized style of translation, according to Lowe.

The University has already started incorporating diverse backgrounds into the field of translation. David Cooper, associate professor of Slavic language and literature, used literature in teaching a class about translation history this semester.

Although he will continue to teach Slavic classes, Cooper said he expects to be doing more teaching about translation in the future.

“I’m really excited that they’re admitting students for a master’s program,” Cooper said. “We are the only Research I institution that has a master’s in translation studies, so we have an opportunity to be number one, and I’m really excited to build toward that.”

The program requires that students take 32 credits in two academic years, according to Lowe. The classes will include requirements in history, process, practice and theory. Students will also be encouraged to do internships in the field throughout the course of the program.

Students will be able to complete the degree either online or on campus, accommodating individuals already in the field looking to enhance their skills or people who cannot afford to come to campus, Lowe said.

The program can be completed with a focus on any language the University offers. Lowe said the program has yet to get an applicant not supported by the 37 languages taught by the University.

Students will also be learning advanced terminology research, in the case that an individual knows nothing about a subject that they have to translate.

“It’s not just about the language,” Lowe said.

Students who earn a degree in translation and interpretation can work in a variety of places, Lowe said, including translation agencies, hospitals, courts, community agencies and software companies.

“You name any big company, they need translation services,” Lowe said. “The demand for these services is far from the supply.”

One of the most in-demand fields in translation is technical translation, according to translation professor Patricia Phillips-Batoma. She said that although most people think of literary translation, roughly 90 percent of the field is in technical translation.

Technical translation includes translating instructions for appliances and cell phones, chemistry protocols, medication instructions and even drug manufacturing when a drug company wants to go international.

“If you want to pay your rent, it’s a pretty good field,” Phillips-Batona said.

The importance of having translators out there has also been recognized by Nicole Talis, who graduated Saturday with a certificate in translation along with her double major in Latino studies and Spanish.

As a student, Talis worked for the Child Care Resource Service at the University where she was one of only two employees who spoke Spanish despite the fact that roughly a third of the families who use the service are Latino.

In addition to her student job, Talis worked four internships while getting her degree, and during all, she said she used her interpretation skills.

“I literally spoke Spanish 90 percent of the time,” she said.  “I’ll be utilizing my Spanish anywhere I go.”

Kat can be reached at [email protected].