Graduate Certificate in Spanish Translation (On Hold)

Plan Description

The post-baccalaureate certificate program provides professional training in translation for both native English speakers with advanced knowledge of Spanish and native Spanish speakers with advanced knowledge of English. Translation and interpretation competence requires a near perfect understanding of the subtleties and nuances of meaning in one language, culture, and context for conveying the same meaning in a different language. It requires superior command of the full range of registers not only in a first language, but in one or more other languages as well.

Plan Admission Requirements

1. Applicants to the program must hold a B.A., with a GPA of 3.00 in their major field.
2. Applicants must demonstrate an advanced level of proficiency in both English and Spanish; non-native speakers of those languages must take a placement exam administered by the Department of Foreign Languages (Spanish) or the English Language Center (English).
3. Applicants must be accepted by the Graduate College.
4. SPAN 709 - Writing Workshop
     with a grade of B or better is a prerequisite for admission.

Plan Requirements

 Total Credits Required: 15

Course Requirements 

Required Courses – Credits: 12

FOL 715 - Theory of Translation 

FOL 716 - Workshop in Translation 

FOL 717 - Independent Studies in Translation 

SPAN 780 - Studies in Interpretation 

Elective Course – Credits: 3

Complete a graduate-level Spanish linguistics course other than FOL 714.

Note: Per Graduate College requirements, courses first used to fulfill requirements for the certificate may be used later toward the M.A. in Hispanic Studies. However, courses used first to fulfill requirements toward the M.A. in Hispanic Studies may not be used to fulfill requirements for the certificate. The degree and certificate may be earned simultaneously.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a final assessment. The final assessment will take into account three different components - linguistic, technical, and cultural – and each component will be equally weighted.
2. For the duration of the certificate program, each student will build an Assessment Portfolio. The Assessment Portfolio will comprise all relevant courses taken at UNLV or at another institution, language tests in the source language and target language, translation projects completed within the UNLV program or specific training in interpretation. The Assessment Portfolio will perform a diagnostic function, allowing the instructor(s) to assess strengths and weakness of the student. The portfolio will be used to provide constructive feedback to those students who have weak areas and need additional work before they can successfully complete the program.
3. Once the student has met all required conditions for the certificate – number of credits, core courses, and language proficiency – he or she will be required to take an exit exam. The exam will duplicate as closely as possible the conditions in which translators and interpreters work in the professional world.
   
   1. The exit exam will be performed under specific time constraints, appropriate to the task.
   2. Students will choose which of the two exit exams (translation or interpretation) they will sit for, based on their individual preparation and experience.
   3. Once the exit examination is selected, it may not be changed.
   4. Each candidate will be able to utilize the necessary tools typical for these situations (dictionaries, PC, CD-ROMS etc.).
   5. A minimum of 80 percent must be achieved in this test to be awarded the Translation Certificate.
   6. Failing students can repeat the exam until a sufficient score is attained.
   7. The criteria used at the final exam for interpreters and translators vary, as the two disciplines require partly different skills:
      
      1. Assessment for Interpreters: includes language quality, appropriate cultural decoding, grammar, pronunciation, timing, register, style, accuracy, and general effectiveness.
      2. Assessment for Translators: includes language quality, appropriate cultural decoding, grammar, spelling, punctuation, recognition of textual levels, style, and general effectiveness.

Plan Certificate Completion Requirements

Students must complete all course work within three years of admission and maintain a GPA of 3.0 in all course work completed. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the program within three semesters, given the rotation of courses.