Prepare for jobs as an interpreter or translator
The M.A. in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Illinois is built on a vision of translation and interpreting studies as both interdisciplinary academic fields and professional practices grounded in strong theoretical foundations. The program prepares students to think critically, work across languages and cultures, and build advanced professional skills for careers in translation, interpreting, terminology, and related language services.
Your M.A. degree from Illinois draws on the resources of a world-class university to offer:
- Faculty with expertise in many languages and a wealth of professional experience
- A multilingual approach that integrates theory with practice
- Coursework that reflects the latest advances in the translation and interpreting profession
- A state-of-the-art interpreting facility with ISO-standard booths
The University’s internationally renowned library hosts a comprehensive collection of translation and interpreting studies resources, available to online and on-campus students alike.
Our core faculty is made up of accomplished scholars who are also translators, interpreters, and terminologists. Faculty members work in a range of world languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. We also draw on the expertise of scholars and practitioners in affiliated language and literature departments to support additional language pairs, including Italian, Japanese, and Korean. Students interested in other language pairs are encouraged to inquire about available support.
This program is designed for students seeking rigorous graduate preparation for a wide variety of professional pathways. Prospective students often begin by searching online for terms such as interpreter jobs, interpreter jobs near me, translators jobs near me, spanish interpreter jobs, jobs as a spanish translator, jobs as spanish interpreter, medical interpreter jobs spanish, medical interpreter education, or medical spanish interpreter. Illinois provides broad, graduate-level training that can support many of these career directions while remaining rooted in a multilingual, research-based approach to translation and interpreting.
For students interested in healthcare and community language access, the program can also support advanced study relevant to medical and public-service settings, while maintaining a broader commitment to translation and interpreting across languages, institutions, and professional contexts.