Earning an Interpreter Degree

Some schools only offer interpreter certification, but colleges and universities that have a dedicated interpretation program, while offering interpretation classes, are more likely to offer a dedicated interpreter degree.

Here are a couple of places that I'm aware of:

Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) - Located in Monterey, California, this graduate school is famous throughout the world for producing graduates in all areas of translation and interpretation.

While many colleges and universities only offer a general translation or interpretation degree, MIIS allows its students to specialize in one of many different areas. Many MIIS students reach their goals of interpreting for at major venues such as the U.N. or European Commission.

One of the things I like most about MIIS is that it is strictly a graduate school. There are no undergraduate degrees available. I find that this usually means that the people there are really interested in furthering their education and the professors and administration can more efficiently focus their energy on the needs of the graduate students, something which doesn't tend to happen at other universities.

Additional Schools - The only school that I have any experience with is MIIS. However, there are many other schools throughout the world that offer either undergraduate or post-graduate degrees in interpretation.

AIIC, the association for professional conference interpreters worldwide, puts out a list of interpretation schools every few years. This list of schools that offer some type of interpretation degree is a great resource for those interested in furthering their interpretation education.

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