ASL and English Interpretation, Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Program Goal
The goal of the ASL-English Interpretation Major is to prepare professional interpreters who are competent, ethical, and life-long learners.
Program Objectives
The objectives (or outcomes) of this program are:
- Students of the program will develop critical and creative thinking skills.
- Students of the program will develop competency in ASL.
- Students of the program will develop competency in English.
- Students of the program will possess a generalist level of knowledge in professional issues, theories, and multicultural dynamics related to the interpreting profession.
- Students of the program will demonstrate ethical and culturally competent decision-making in various interpreter settings.
- Students of the program will demonstrate at least entry-level competency in interpreting between ASL and English.
- Students of the program will be able to critically assess their own work and use creative problem-solving to continually develop themselves after they leave the program.
Admission Criteria
- Overall GPA of 2.5 or higher by the end of the semester preceding application, and
- ASL 106 ASL Discourse & Depiction II with a grade of “Satisfactory”, and
- ASL 201 American Sign Language III and ASL 202 American Sign Language IV with a grade of “B” or higher, and ITP 215 Prof. Issues in Interpreting and ITP 220 Processing Skills for Interpreters with a grade of “C” or higher and
- Completed the Degrees of Reading Power Language Test, and
- Completed an admission interview by the ITP Interview Committee.
The ASL & English Interpretation (ITP) Interview Committee will select and rank applicants using the following criteria:
- signing skills,
- GPA,
- score on the Degree of Reading Power Language Test,
- interview score,
- disposition score.
The ITP Interview Committee will determine the number of students admitted to the program in order to maintain an appropriate student-faculty ratio and based on available resources.
Application Information
- Enrollment is limited.
- Application for full admission to the ITP does not guarantee acceptance.
- The ITP accepts students for the fall semester of all even years (i.e., 2022, 2024, etc.). The deadline for application is March 15th every even year. Special Note: For first-year students entering EKU during the fall semester of odd-numbered years, it may take 5 years to complete the program due to course prerequisites and limited course offerings, unless a student is able to transfer courses, pass credit by examinations, and/or enroll in summer classes prior to the first fall semester of the odd-numbered year.
Progression and Retention in the Program
- A grade of “C” or higher is required for all ITP and lecture-based ASL courses (ASL 225 Introduction to Deaf Studies, ASL 325 Historical & Current Perspectives of Deaf Ways of Being, ASL 390 Contrastive Analysis: ASL and English, ASL 425 Deaf Literature), and
- A grade of “B” or higher is required (with the exception of no more than one grade of “C”) for all skill-based ASL courses (ASL 301 American Sign Language V, ASL 302 American Sign Language VI, ASL 305 ASL Comprehension and Fluency I, ASL 306 ASL Comprehension and Fluency II), and
- Maintain a 2.75 GPA in the major
- Upon successful and timely completion of ITP 470 Practicum in Interpreting I, a student will be permitted to take ITP 495 Practicum in Interpreting II only with written recommendations from the ITP faculty and the department.
Program Requirements
CIP Code: 16.1603
Summary Checklist for General Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Element 1 | ||
| A: Written Communication | 3 | |
| B: Written Communication | 3 | |
| C: Oral Communication | 3 | |
| Element 2 | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | |
| Element 3 | ||
| A: Arts | 3 | |
| B: Humanities | 3 | |
| Element 4 | ||
| Natural Sciences | 6 | |
| Element 5 | ||
| A: Historical Science | 3 | |
| B: Social Behavioral Science | 3 | |
| Element 6 | ||
| Diversity of Perspectives Experiences | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Students are expected to complete Elements 1 and 2 within their first 60 hours of college credit.
Major
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Graduation Requirements | ||
| General Education (hours share with supporting courses) | 36 | |
| Student Success Seminar | ||
| EDO 100 | Student Success Seminar (waived for transfers with 30+ hrs.) | 1 |
| Upper division courses (42 hrs. distributed throughout Major/Supporting/Gen Ed/Free Electives categories) | ||
| Major Requirements | ||
| Prior to graduation, students are required to take the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI:ASL) or the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI) with scores submitted to the department. Administrators of the SLPI: ASL or ASLPI may charge testing fees to students. | ||
| Core Courses | ||
| ASL Requirements: | ||
| ASL 101 | American Sign Language I 1 | 3 |
| ASL 102 | American Sign Language II 1 | 3 |
| ASL 105 | ASL Discourse & Depiction I | 1 |
| ASL 106 | ASL Discourse & Depiction II | 3 |
| ASL 201 | American Sign Language III | 3 |
| ASL 202 | American Sign Language IV | 3 |
| ASL 205 | ASL Discourse & Depiction III | 2 |
| ASL 225 | Introduction to Deaf Studies | 3 |
| ASL 301 | American Sign Language V | 3 |
| ASL 302 | American Sign Language VI | 3 |
| ASL 305 | ASL Comprehension and Fluency I | 3 |
| ASL 306 | ASL Comprehension and Fluency II | 3 |
| ASL 325 | Historical & Current Perspectives of Deaf Ways of Being | 3 |
| ASL 390 | Contrastive Analysis: ASL and English | 3 |
| ASL 401 | American Sign Language VII | 3 |
| ASL 425 | Deaf Literature | 3 |
| ITP Requirements: | ||
| ITP 215 | Prof. Issues in Interpreting | 3 |
| ITP 220 | Processing Skills for Interpreters | 3 |
| ITP 310 | Professional Decision Making | 3 |
| ITP 320 | English-to-ASL Interpreting I | 3 |
| ITP 325 | ASL-to-English Interpreting I | 3 |
| ITP 340 | Interactive Interpreting I | 3 |
| ITP 420 | English-to-ASL Interpreting II | 3 |
| ITP 425 | ASL-to- English interpreting II | 3 |
| ITP 440 | Interactive Interpreting II | 3 |
| ITP 470 | Practicum in Interpreting I | 3 |
| ITP 495 | Practicum in Interpreting II | 12 |
| Supporting Course Requirements | ||
| SJS 101 | Understanding Social Justice and Human Struggle | 3 |
| Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Element 5B) G | ||
| Total Hours | 127 | |
- G
Course also satisfies a General Education element. Hours are included within the 36 hr. General Education requirement above.
- 1
Note: ASL 101 American Sign Language I & ASL 102 American Sign Language II are major core courses and will not count toward Gen. Ed. Element 6. Therefore ASL & English Interpretation majors are expected to fulfill Element 6 with courses other than ASL 101 American Sign Language I & ASL 102 American Sign Language II.