FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — The current demand for skilled language translators far outweighs the supply available, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 46 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations.
A new certificate offered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures in the IU School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will prepare students for these careers. Applications for the new Graduate Certificate in Translation Studies are now being accepted. The post-graduate program begins in fall 2016.
“The new certificate program will help prepare the workforce needed for the numerous requests for the growing limited English proficiency populations in Indiana and in the U.S. by providing quality translations through emerging technologies,” said professor Enrica Ardemagni, director of the Graduate Certificate in Translation Studies.
Globalization of business, law and trade relations and changing U.S. demographics have increased demand for translation skills in many fields, especially educational, medical, legal and technical. Translation studies is the interdisciplinary study of the theory, description and application of translation, interpretation and localization. It is recognized as an academic discipline that includes the application of theory and practice to specific fields of translation.
Academically well-prepared and highly motivated individuals with advanced language proficiency in English and French, German and/or Spanish who are interested in the study of translation are invited to apply for the new IUPUI certificate program. A baccalaureate degree in a language from an accredited institution is required for admission; however, other degrees will be taken into consideration based on completion of prerequisites in preparation for graduate-level study. The application deadline is Feb. 1.
A minimum of 18 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree is required to complete coursework for the IU Graduate Certificate in Translation Studies, which also includes advanced courses in interpreting (Spanish only). A required internship will give students hands-on practice to ensure command of the lexical precision and detailed understanding of contexts or terminologies as well as a nuanced sense of the purpose of language and its designated audience.
“We are proud to add this new certificate program to our program offerings in the IU School of Liberal Arts,” Dean Thomas J. Davis said. “These students will work with faculty in the Department of World Languages and Cultures as well as in other departments and the community to hone their translation skills, as well as to offer a much-needed service to the growing limited-English-proficiency populations of the state. These future translators will comprise the next generation of professionals who will ensure access to needed services; they will, as well, broaden the scope of research that can be done in several languages through exemplary translated works.”
The graduate certificate will be officially announced on International Translation Day at IUPUI. The event takes place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at the IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd. Bolivian author Maria Cristina Botelho will make a special presentation and deliver a bilingual reading from her book “Memoria de las Mariposas.”
For more information, email wlac@iupui.edu.