Spanish Translation and Interpreting

Program Map

  • Focus on translation (written) or interpreting (spoken), or both.
  • 5 translation/interpreting specific courses:
    • SPAN 4110: Intro to Translation and Interpreting
    • SPAN 4120: Advanced Translation
    • SPAN 4130: Interpreting
    • SPAN 4310: Advanced Healthcare Spanish (focused entirely on medical interpreting)
    • LANG 450R: Translation Technology
  • Rest of courses = specific professional areas, such as healthcare, business, or legal.

Flowchart showing the four main areas of the UVU Spanish Translation and Interpreting Minor: First, pre-requisites (SPAN 3050 or SPAN 3030 and SPAN 3040); second, translation and interpreting core (SPAN 4110, intro to translation and interpreting, followed by either SPAN 4120 (advanced translation) or SPAN 4130 (interpreting); but both SPAN 4120 and 4130 can be taken if desired); third, Professional Spanish core courses (SPAN 3200 (business), SPAN 3310 (healthcare), SPAN 3320 (mental health), SPAN 3340 (tourism), SPAN 3350 (legal), SPAN 4200 (advanced business), and SPAN 4310 (advanced healthcare, which is basically a medical interpreting course)); fourth, electives, which can be any 3000- and 4000-level SPAN or LANG courses). A suggested elective is LANG 450R, which is the translation technology course.

 

See UVU Program Catalog page for Spanish Translation/Interpreting Minor

  • SPAN 4110: Intro to Translation and Interpreting

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    Learn the basics of interpreting, with a focus on the healthcare and social service settings. Most time is spent on dialogue interpreting, but you will also learn simultaneous interpreting and sight translation. Learn the basics of translating naturally and effectively, breaking free of tendencies to mimic the source language too much when translating.

    See course catalog

  • SPAN 4120: Advanced Translation

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    Up your translation skills with more difficult text types (medical and legal documents, international business marketing materials, a touch of literary texts, etc.). Conduct a service learning project translating for an organization of your choice, and finish the semester off with an authentic class project where you'll be translating for a real-world client.

    See course catalog

  • SPAN 4130: English-Spanish Interpreting

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    Explore several specialized interpreting domains (medical, legal, education, etc.), and delve into the specialization of your choice through targeted practice with excellent training materials. Course still focuses on dialogue interpreting but includes more experiences with simultaneous interpreting and sight translation as well.

    See course catalog

  • SPAN 4310: Advanced Spanish for Healthcare (Medical Interpreting)

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    An excellent continuation of SPAN 3310 (Spanish for Healthcare Professionals), this course explores all the essential knowledge and skills for a healthcare interpreter: interpreter ethics, standards of practice, and protocols; modes of interpreting; cultural competence; medical terminology; and government regulations relating to the US healthcare system. Upon finishing this course, students will have completed requirements to work as a qualified medical interpreter in the state of Utah and will have completed one of the pre-requisites for either of the two national certification exams for medical interpreters.

    See course catalog

  • LANG 450R: Translation Technology

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    This course is crucial for anyone who wants to work in the language services industry, whether as a translator, localization engineer, project manager, or if they're working in administration or HR for a language services company. Learn the ins and outs of CAT tools (computer aided translation) using industry-standard software, and understand the technology behind machine translation from a non-technical point of view.

    See course catalog

Student Success

  • Carlos Plummer
    Graduation Year: 2023

    headshot of Carlos Plummer

    My internship with U.S. Translation Company was very profitable for my professional career. 


    I am studying international business and languages and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity to immerse myself in an experience that compiled both specialties. 


    During my internship I worked as an interpreting project coordinator, so I helped organize interpreting for events that were provided in 10+ languages. 

  • Briana O'Neal
    Graduation Year: 2023

    headshot of Briana O'Neal

    After taking some time off, I came back to UVU to finish my degree. I took UVU's introductory interpreting course (SPAN 4110) and due to taking that class, I did an internship for a medical interpreting company, learned I really love interpreting, and now work as a medical interpreter.

     

    I really appreciate how this program has helped me discover what I really want to do with my life and taught me the necessary skills I need in order to succeed in my chosen career path.

  • Kaylie Walker
    Graduation Year: 2023

    Kaylie Walker

    I started working with the Utah Translation and Analysis Center in May of 2022. Having completed Dr. Gilbert’s introductory course to Spanish interpreting/translation beforehand helped me have the skillset I needed to make it through the difficult hiring process; the translation skill that I started developing in that course is what landed me such a unique, challenging, and rewarding opportunity.

     

    You truly get out of these classes the work and practice that you put in. I would recommend that anyone interested try out the program because translation and interpreting can be great career paths on their own, and are also highly useful tools in almost any field.

     

  • Hannah McKay
    Graduation Year: 2023

    Hannah McKay

    The Spanish Translation and Interpreting program improved my Spanish more than I realized it had. After being in the program for about 6 months, my mother-in-law, who lives in South America, said something along the lines of "Hannah, your Spanish has improved so much in the past 6 months. How did you do it?" That is where I began to realize how much the program was teaching me. I had already been volunteering as a medical interpreter and working as a bilingual representative at a call center. However, this was when people like my mother-in-law really noticed improvement in my abilities. I am currently working at an insurance brokerage as a translator and account coordinator and still do translation services for my previous employer at a law firm. I owe all of these translation and interpretation capabilities to the program at UVU and the tactics they taught me to improve not only my Spanish, but also my interpreting and translating methods.

Student Projects

Spring 2023

Students in the Advanced Spanish translation course (SPAN 4120) are collaborating with the UVU Museum of Art to make the Museum's offerings more inclusive. They are localizing the Museum's webpages, translating calls for artists, and will be translating exhibition materials for the new location at Lakemount Manor so they are accessible to Spanish-speakers.

Fall 2022

Students localized a website for the Orem startup BankHunter. Carbuyers can get banks to compete to be their lender by filling out BankHunter’s free online form. UVU students worked to craft messaging that would be professional and attractive to a wide range of Latino age groups and national origins. Additionally, they created a video to embed on the Spanish webpage and designed many social media ads targeting Latinos.

Spring 2022

Devin Gilbert's Spanish translation students localized the highest-demand webpages from Orem City's website into Spanish in an effort to help the city increase civic engagement from Latino members of the community. Their service was recognized on Orem City's website as well as in an article from the Daily Herald.

 

Two rows of students and one professor posing for a picture on a sunny day in front of the giant green UVU letters on the Orem campus

 

 

logo for the Universidad de Costa Rica (says "Lucem Aspicio" below the seal, which is an image of a sunflower turning towards the rising sun)

 

Since the summer of 2023, Devin Gilbert's UVU students have done virtual exchanges with professor Mariana Valverde Vargas's students from the University of Costa Rica. Costa Rican students send over English writing/translation assignments for which UVU students give them feedback, and UVU students send translations they have done into Spanish so that the students from Costa Rica can critique their work.

 

 

Events

Language Services Industry Day 2023 @ UVU

Bright background with words "Language Services Industry Day" and UVU's logo

Date: March 22

Time: 12pm - 4pm

Location: Clarke Building Rm 510

Description:
Click or scan to fill out RSVP form
QR Code for RSVP form for Language Services Industry Day 2023 @ UVU

Event publicized in Multilingual Magazine

Come connect with other students and representatives from language companies, non-profits, and industry organizations. There'll be food, mingling, and panel discussions.

All students/educators throughout Utah are welcome, regardless of whether they're studying language.

Get more information about Language Services Industry Day 2023 @ UVU.

Program: Language Services Industry Day 2023 @ UVU

  • 12:00pm — Welcome: Dr. Devin Gilbert, UVU
  • 12:05pm — Panel 1 (Language Industry Business Leaders):
    • David Utrilla, U.S. Translation Company
    • Cody Simonsen, 5 Star Interpreting
    • Adam Wooten, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
    • Cyle Adair, Transcend Translation
  • 12:35pm — Panel 2 (Working in the Language Industry):
    • Angie Spurgeon, Utah Valley University
    • Tia Oniani, Straker and Women in Localization
    • Briana O'Neal, UVU student and medical interpreter
    • Kylan Merrill, UVU student and intern at U.S. Translation Company
  • 1:05pm — Career Fair (in adjacent room)

Professional Partners

logo for company memoQ

Thank you to memoQ for giving our students free access to their software through the memoQ Academic Program.

 

Logo for the company Phrase

We would like to thank Phrase for granting us free access to their platform through Phrase Academic Edition.

 

logo for company Lilt

We would also like to thank  Lilt for giving our program free access to their platform as a Lilt University Partner.

 

Logo for the company RWS

Thank you to RWS Trados for giving our program free access to Trados Team as part of their Academic Partner Program.

 

 

 

Logo for U.S. Translation Company

 

 

MultiLingual Logo

 

 

logo for company CommGap

Logo for the Utah Translators and Interpreters Association

 

logo for international non-profit organization Women in Localization

 

logo for the internship connection program of the Association of Language Companies: called ALC Bridge

 

Logo for the Universidad de Costa Rica

Careers

$9.1b  Translation Industry in US

2022 figure | ~45% growth since 2012

$7.6b  Interpreting Industry in US

– figure as of 2019

$55b  Global Language Industry

a market rife with opportunity

Employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 20 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.

– U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

Learn More About the Language Services Industry

Internships

See the UVU Language Services Industry Internships webpage for all steps and directions on how to apply for an internship:

UVU INTERNSHIP APPLICATION STEPS

Established Internship Partners:

U.S. translation Company logo

 

CommGap logo

 

You can also search for language services industry internships through our partner ALC Bridge ALC Bridge logo

 

 

Where do I start?

Utah Translators and Interpreters Association Logo

Networking with the Utah Translators and Interpreters Association (UTIA) is a crucial first step for any student looking to start in the industry. Besides joining UTIA (student annual fee is only $20), check out their job board for local opportunities:

UTIA COMMUNITY JOB BOARD

 

MultiLingual Media logo

One great resource for the most up-to-date info on the industry is MultiLingual. For more than 30 years, MultiLingual has been serving as the world’s source of information for the language industry. Through their magazine, newsletter, website, YouTube channel, podcast, and social media platforms you will find anything you need to know about industry-related events, news, development and opportunities.

 

 

The American Translators Association (ATA) represents not just translators but interpreters as well. It's much more affordable to join as a student, and members can become ATA certified translators (students should look into the practice test, which is an affordable way to judge your readiness for certification). Also, check out their materials for those who are looking to start in the industry:

ATA: HOW TO START YOUR CAREER

 

Did you know you Utah Valley University can help you receive a Business Spanish Certification from the Official Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid?

Business Spanish Certification

 

 

See where an advanced degree in translation, interpreting, or localization management might take you:

Looking at the careers graduate students have attained after graduation can give you a great idea of what opportunities might be available to those who are interested in the language services industry (whether in translation, interpreting, localization, or more on the business side of things):

 

MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: LOCALIZATION CAREERS

 

Wake Forest University: Interpreting and Translation Alumni Careers

 

MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING CAREERS

Service Opportunities

Healthcare Interpreting

follow links below to volunteer

Social Services Interpreting

  • Utah Valley Refugees, Utah Valley — (fill out this form to volunteer)
    • The organization helps resettle refugees in the Utah Valley area and needs volunteers who can interpret for in-person meetings and/or sign up for certain times of day where they can be "on call" to interpret phone conversations. They also have many internship opportunities.

Educational Interpreting

Organizations

With these local, national, and international organizations, there are several ways to get involved and volunteer. Get to it!

  • UTIA — Utah Translators and Interpreters Association
  • Women in Localization
  • NAETISL — National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages