ASL-English Interpreting

According to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), more than 28 million people in America depend on ASL-English interpreters to help bridge the gap between those who are Deaf and those who can hear. Interpreters work in a wide variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, businesses, courtrooms, counseling centers, and government agencies.

Keuka College’s ASL-English Interpreting program is geared toward students who excel in language, cultural awareness, and problem solving. Our graduates are prepared for professional work as interpreters working between American Sign Language and English.

Program Overview

As an ASL-English interpreting major, you'll be able to further the mission of agencies and organizations you may serve. You'll gain a solid foundation in Deaf culture and communication that will enable you to foster confident interaction among ASL and English speakers.

ASL courses are aimed at building ASL comprehension and production skills. ASL is a rich and complex language used by members of the Deaf community in the United States and most of Canada. ASL has its own grammatical rules, sentence structure, idioms, historical contexts, and cultural nuances.

Keuka College’s ASL courses foster an understanding of ASL/Deaf literature, linguistics, culture, and history. These courses are taken by ASL and ASL/English Interpreting majors alike.

ASL-English interpreting students start with language development and then move to translation, consecutive modes of interpreting, and simultaneous interpreting. Specialized settings are also a focus so that graduates are able to navigate a variety of interpreting settings, including medical, education, and human services.

ASL-English interpreters must be fluent in both ASL and English. The degree requires completion of courses in English linguistics and advanced writing. Interpreting with signed languages, just as with foreign spoken languages, involves more than simply replacing a word of spoken English with a sign representing that word.

With strong growth projected in employment opportunities for interpreters for the Deaf over the next several years, our ASL/English Interpreting degree will put you in demand. Keuka College is one of just two upstate New York campuses offering this highly specialized major. 

But don’t worry. Once you graduate, you’ll have the necessary preparation to immediately pass the written exam of the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) interpreting certification exam. Interpreters who pass the written part of certification are eligible to complete the certification performance exams. We expect that our AEI graduates should be able to complete this credential within two years of graduation.