FAQs

The UNM Signed Language Interpreting program accepts applications to the program each year in the spring. Candidates are accepted into the program after a personal interview with program faculty. Each year we accept approximately 15 new majors into the program.

You should contact the program director, Erin Wilkinson, for more information. A complete application packet is available from the Administrative Assistant. Click here to acces the online application.

Please note our new policy: Effective June 2013, students are permitted a maximum of two attempts to apply and interview for acceptance to the major in Signed Language Interpreting. Students are strongly encouraged to apply for the program as soon as they have completed the pre-requisites (English 1120, SIGN 2125, SIGN 2210, SIGN 2130 and be eligible to transfer to the College of Arts & Sciences).

 

No. The program has a strong commitment to preparing the best possible interpreters, and we believe that students in the program are not ready to be working interpreters. In order to maintain the integrity of our program curriculum, and to ensure that the deaf community has only the best qualified interpreters, we ask that our students do not work as interpreters until they have successfully graduated from the program. See our policy on student interpreting for more information.

Yes. Students interested in transferring from other universities, or from AA-degree programs, should contact our program director, Erin Wilkinson, for more information. If you believe you will be transferring from another institution and hope to apply to our major you are encouraged to contact Dr. Shaffer as soon as possible to receive appropriate guidance. The UNM Signed Language Interpreting Program cannot guarantee that courses taken at other post secondary institutions will transfer on a one to one basis.

Our program has an outstanding history of preparing entry level interpreters who are ready to take and successfully pass the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf written examination. Our graduates also go on to pass RID, the BEI, the EIPA, and various state certification examinations.

Graduates of the Signed Language Interpreting Program obtain jobs as freelance interpreters, educational interpreters, and as full-time interpreters in the public and private sectors. Educational agencies across the country routinely recruit our graduates. A new and exciting market for our interpreters is Video Relay Service (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI).

Because our program confers a baccalaureate degree, graduates often go on to obtain graduate degrees in interpreting and other fields. Many of our former students now hold Masters and Doctoral degrees, as well as J.D.s and M.D.s.

Yes, we are accredited by The Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE)