ASL and English Interpretation, Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Program Goal
The ASL-English Interpretation Major aims 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 Professional 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., 2026, 2028, 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, ASL 401 American Sign Language VII), 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
Major
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Graduation Requirements | ||
| General Education (hours share with supporting courses) | 36 | |
| Student Success Seminar | ||
| GSD 101 | Foundations of Learning | 3 |
| 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 1 | 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 | Professional 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 | 129 | |
- 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 & ASL 225 Introduction to Deaf Studies are major core courses and will not count toward Gen. Ed. requirements.