ASL and English Interpretation, Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

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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:

  1. Students of the program will develop critical and creative thinking skills.
  2. Students of the program will develop competency in ASL.
  3. Students of the program will develop competency in English.
  4. Students of the program will possess a generalist level of knowledge in professional issues, theories, and multicultural dynamics related to the interpreting profession.
  5. Students of the program will demonstrate ethical and culturally competent decision-making in various interpreter settings.
  6. Students of the program will demonstrate at least entry-level competency in interpreting between ASL and English.
  7. 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:

  1. signing skills,
  2. GPA,
  3. score on the Degree of Reading Power Language Test,
  4. interview score,
  5. 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

Program Requirements

CIP Code: 16.1603

Major

University Graduation Requirements
Essential Education30
Student Success Seminar
GSD 101Foundations of Learning3
Upper division courses (hours are distributed throughout Major/Supporting/Essential Ed/Free Electives categories)39
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 101American Sign Language I 13
ASL 102American Sign Language II 13
ASL 105ASL Discourse & Depiction I1
ASL 106ASL Discourse & Depiction II3
ASL 201American Sign Language III3
ASL 202American Sign Language IV3
ASL 205ASL Discourse & Depiction III2
ASL 225Introduction to Deaf Studies 13
ASL 301American Sign Language V3
ASL 302American Sign Language VI3
ASL 305ASL Comprehension and Fluency I3
ASL 306ASL Comprehension and Fluency II3
ASL 325Historical & Current Perspectives of Deaf Ways of Being3
ASL 390Contrastive Analysis: ASL and English3
ASL 401American Sign Language VII3
ASL 425Deaf Literature3
ITP Requirements:
ITP 215Prof. Issues in Interpreting3
ITP 220Processing Skills for Interpreters3
ITP 310Professional Decision Making3
ITP 320English-to-ASL Interpreting I3
ITP 325ASL-to-English Interpreting I3
ITP 340Interactive Interpreting I3
ITP 420English-to-ASL Interpreting II3
ITP 425ASL-to-English Interpreting II3
ITP 440Interactive Interpreting II3
ITP 470Practicum in Interpreting I3
ITP 495Practicum in Interpreting II12
Supporting Course Requirements
ANT 120
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Element 4B) E
Total Hours120
E

Course also satisfies an Essential Education element. 3 hours are included within the Essential 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.

Key:
E

Course satisfies an  Essential Education element.

*

Course must be taken in semester indicated.

Upper division courses: All students are required to have a minimum of 39 hrs. upper division (300-level or above) courses distributed throughout Major/Supporting/Essential Ed/Free Electives categories.

ASL and English Interpretation B.S.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First SemesterHours
ASL 101 American Sign Language I 3
ASL 105 ASL Discourse & Depiction I 1
ENG 101 Reading, Writing, and Rhetoric (E-1A) E * 3
GSD 101 Foundations of Learning 3
E-2A (Quantitative Reasoning) E 3
E-4A (Historical Perspectives) E 3
 Hours16
Second Semester
ASL 102 American Sign Language II 3
ASL 106 ASL Discourse & Depiction II 3
EDC 106 Culturally Responsive Perspectives 3
ENG 102 Research, Writing, and Rhetoric (E-1B) E * 3
E-1C (Oral Communications) E 3
E-2B (Natural Science) E 3
 Hours18
Second Year
First Semester
ASL 201 American Sign Language III 3
ASL 205 ASL Discourse & Depiction III 2
ASL 225 Introduction to Deaf Studies 3
E-3A (Arts) E 3
Free Electives 3
 Hours14
Second Semester
ASL 202 American Sign Language IV 3
ITP 215 Professional Issues in Interpreting 3
ITP 220 Processing Skills for Interpreters 3
ANT 120 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (E-4B (Social & Behavioral Sciences)) E 3
E-3B (Humanities) E 3
 Hours15
Third Year
First Semester
ASL 301 American Sign Language V 3
ASL 305 ASL Comprehension and Fluency I 3
ASL 325 Historical & Current Perspectives of Deaf Ways of Being 3
ITP 310 Professional Decision Making 3
ITP 325 ASL-to-English Interpreting I 3
 Hours15
Second Semester
ASL 302 American Sign Language VI 3
ASL 306 ASL Comprehension and Fluency II 3
ASL 390 Contrastive Analysis: ASL and English 3
ITP 320 English-to-ASL Interpreting I 3
ITP 340 Interactive Interpreting I 3
ITP 425 ASL-to-English Interpreting II 3
 Hours18
Fourth Year
First Semester
ASL 401 American Sign Language VII 3
ASL 425 Deaf Literature 3
ITP 420 English-to-ASL Interpreting II 3
ITP 440 Interactive Interpreting II 3
ITP 470 Practicum in Interpreting I 3
 Hours15
Second Semester
ITP 495 Practicum in Interpreting II 12
 Hours12
 Total Hours123