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Abstract
To better understand the current state of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter education in the United States, the authors ana-lyzed publicly available website data to document the number and type of active postsecondary interpreter education programs by state. This descriptive study aimed to address a significant gap in the literature by producing an accurate inventory of interpreting programs and concomitant degree or certificate offerings. Inclusion criteria included ASL-English interpreting programs at two- and four-year public and private institutions of higher education in the United States (and territories). Related fields, such as Deaf studies and ASL-only degree and certificate programs, were excluded. This investiga-tion was part of a multiyear study examining American interpreter education. Frequencies were calculated for degree types, and pre-liminary results were reported at the 2022 Conference of Interpreter Trainers biannual conference. The authors identified 126 institutions of higher education that offer a total of 166 degrees. Changes between 2010 and 2022 were also determined. In that time, the number of bachelor's degree programs increased while associate's degree programs decreased-still, the majority of degrees offered at institutes of higher education were at the associate's level.
Barbara D. Garrett ([email protected]) is a professor and the chair of the Department of American Sign Language and Interpretation Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. Emily G. Girardin ([email protected]) is the director of the Preparing School Interpreters Project (US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs #H325K210024) and an instructor at the University of Northern Colorado. Whitney R. Weirick (she; [email protected]) is a nationally certified interpreter and researcher focused on advancing educational equity for deaf and hard of hearing students.
This investigation was conducted to create an up-to-date inventory of sign language interpreting programs in the United States. This process began through a document analysis designed to gather data from an exhaustive investigation of information from sources, including the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), the Conference of Interpre ter Trainers (CIT), the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE), two American Annah of the Deofreference issues (2019, 2022), hundreds of college and university webpages, individual state publications, federal grant publications, as well as a detailed review of literature on interpreter education and trends in higher education. The researchers compiled, organized, and analyzed the data...