Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate Program

Build your expertise as a professional educational interpreter.
The University of Georgia’s Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate Program expands career options for bilingual individuals who work in schools or educational settings.  

Participants will learn how to:

• Identify cultural aspects of Latino/Hispanic communities
• Use simultaneous and consecutive interpretation
• Assess one’s bilingual expertise and vocabulary in the native language and the second language
• Build proficiency in educational terminology
• Serve as a linguistic counselor who maintains the flow of communication without manipulating the content of the message
• Apply the Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics

Becoming a professional interpreter is a learned and skill-based process.  This 40-hour classroom training program is designed to equip the participant with measurable skills for becoming a professional educational interpreter. 

Bilingual language interpreting programs are offered: Spanish/English. Four sessions of the program will be taught in English and the fifth session will be bilingual. The program is highly interactive, with frequent discussion topics and interpreting exercises. 

Job Outlook: Professional interpreters have stronger-than-average employment opportunities.  Demand is especially strong for Spanish interpreters.

According to the Department of Labor, “Interpreters and translators can expect much faster than average employment growth. Job prospects vary by specialty and language. Employment of interpreters is projected to increase 22 percent over the 2008–18 decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. Higher demand for interpreters and translators results directly from the broadening of international ties and the large increases in the number of non-English speaking people in the United States. Both of these trends are expected to continue. Demand will remain strong for interpreters of Spanish”