RIT/NTID to offer certificate in Deaf interpreting
Program joins the college’s health care and educational interpreting certificate offerings
Scott Hamilton
Applications are being accepted for NTID’s Certificate in Deaf Interpreting program, which will be offered in the 2022-2023 academic year.
A non-credit Certificate in Deaf Interpreting (CIDI) will be offered by Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf in the 2022-2023 academic year.
The 20-week program runs from September 2022 to April 2023 and trains Deaf professionals to interpret in a variety of discourses: educational, international, legal, medical, mental health, business, and government settings. The CIDI program helps prepare participants for the Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation’s Deaf Interpreter Writing and Performance exams.
According to the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers, a Deaf interpreter is a specialist who provides interpreting, translation, and transliteration services in American Sign Language and other visual and tactual communication forms used by individuals who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafblind.
The RIT/NTID program will be delivered using an online blended format with two-thirds of instruction occurring synchronously on Zoom and one-third completed asynchronously online.
Participants will have opportunities to practice interpreting for deaf, deafblind, and hearing consumers in a variety of settings: medical, mental health, legal, business, government, education, and press conferences.
Upon completion, students will be awarded a Certificate of Completion in the Certificate in Deaf Interpreting program from the college.
“Among the Deaf population, there is increasing demand for Deaf interpreters,” said Alisha Bronk, a lecturer in NTID’s Department of ASL and Interpreting Education and director of the CIDI program. “In the wake of the pandemic, there have been many Deaf interpreters appearing next to the governmental officials sharing COVID- and weather emergency-related information. These interpreters can facilitate communication with signs from a specific ethnic group or region, and have knowledge of certain terms used within Deaf culture.”
The application deadline is March 15, with applicants receiving decisions on their application status by April 30. The cost for the certificate program is $1,600.
To apply, go to the NTID Certificate in Deaf Interpreting program website.