Skip to Content
Certificate

Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English)

Professional Certificate

Apply Now Request Info

About the Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English) Program

The Professional Certificate in Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English) is designed for bilingual adults who may or may not already be working in the field of translation and interpretation. Our reputable and rigorous program offers high-level instruction and professional training from active professionals to set you apart from the competition and certify to potential employers that you possess the bilingual proficiency, cultural understanding, theoretical knowledge, and skill set they need. Graduates of our program go on to own and operate their own translation and interpretation service companies, freelance, work for private companies or work within the public sector.

Looking specifically for translation?

Get connected to the local and national translation and interpretation communities through UC San Diego Extended Studies:

Learn more about the program:
Online
In-class options not available.
15 - 30 months
Varies by student and courses taken per quarter.
$5,325
Cost does not include textbooks or class materials.

What You Will Learn

  • Sight Translation, and Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpretation.
  • Choose to take elective courses in Medical, Legal, and Business translation and interpretation for further career advancement opportunities.
  • How to market yourself by engaging in an elective Strategic Marketing & Branding course for those seeking to create their own business, or work for private and/or public sector position.

Conditions for Admission

Total fluency in both English and Spanish, including the ability to speak, read, and write at a second year university level, is required. Fluency is determined by a written online entrance exam. Select courses may be taken prior to passing the entrance exam.

How to Apply

Students may enroll in individual courses without applying to the certificate program. There is a $0.00 application fee. For students pursuing the certificate, there will be a one-time $125.00 certificate fee.

Get More Information

For detailed information, please contact our Arts, Humanities, Languages & Digital Arts department.

Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English)
Classroom type:
Live Online
In-Person
Online
Hybrid
Download Course List

Information Session

Find out more about the program in a free information session.

Prerequisite

Required Courses

All 21 units are required.

General Electives

A minimum of 9 elective units is required. Choose courses from any of the elective categories.

Business Electives

A minimum of 9 elective units is required. Choose courses from any of the elective categories.

Legal Electives

A minimum of 9 elective units is required. Choose courses from any of the elective categories.

Medical Electives

A minimum of 9 elective units is required. Choose courses from any of the elective categories.

Optional Additional Classes

Please note: These courses do not apply to the certificate

This Program Is Designed For:

  • Bilingual language speakers who desire to have a Professional Translation & Interpretation Certification.
  • Professionals seeking career advancement by becoming certified in translation and interpretation.
  • Medical, legal or business professionals seeking to enrich their ability to communicate with non-Native speakers.

Certificate Guidelines

Tailor the curriculum to suit your professional needs. Areas of specialization in translation or interpretation, or professional industry (medical, legal, and business) are available.

The Professional Certificate in Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English) is issued upon completion of the entrance exam and the total number of required credit units (30 quarter units). The approximate cost of the program is $5,325 (includes course fees, entrance exam fee, and certificate enrollment fee) and is paid incrementally as students enroll in courses rather than up front. Cost does not include textbooks or class materials. Course fees and schedules are subject to change.

Visit The Virtual Career Hub Today To Unlock Your Benefits!

It's your one-stop shop for professional development and completely free.
Explore Careers

Related Documents

FAQs

The employment outlook for translators over the next decade is very good, with an expected increase of 17% overall (learn more from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics).
Yes! This program is designed for you to take it online in the convenience of your own home or office. We are currently using Canvas as our online Learning Management System for all our online courses in this program. While students do not get access to their respective courses until the first day of the course, we encourage students who are new to Canvas to click on the following link to Canvas and Take the free tour of Canvas.
Yes, the program is open to non-California residents, including non-US residents. The tuition is the same for all students. If you have questions about how enrolling in courses may or may not affect your visa status, please contact our International Department at ipinfo@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-6784.

Our programs are designed for individuals who are already bilingual in Spanish and English. This signifies written fluency, and an ability to complete college-level studies in both languages. To be admitted, students must complete an entrance exam: a written assessment of vocabulary, reading comprehension, and spelling in both languages. All students who pass the entrance exam are eligible to enroll in either program.

• Offered online once per quarter on a Saturday
• Graded by a qualified, bilingual practitioner in the field
• All exam results are reported to students within three business days
• You are eligible to retake the exam as many times as you need, but it cannot be transferred in or waived

For more information please review the Entrance Exam PDF.
 

Students may enroll concurrently in more than one course, however we recommend participating in the entry level translation courses in the order listed below.
 
The Translation and Interpretation certificate consists of the entrance exam and 11 required courses, eight of which are preset and three of which are electives that the student chooses.

You officially have five years to complete all requirements for the certificate, although students can usually complete the entire program in 1.5- 2.5 years (6-10 quarters) by taking 1-2 courses per quarter.
 
The fees are the following:
  • Entrance exam: $100 per attempt
  • Introduction to Translation (5 week class): $300
  • Introduction to Interpretation (5 week class): $300
  • English to Spanish Translation 1 (10 week class): $500
  • Spanish to English Translation 1 (10 week class): $500
  • Theory and Practice of Translation (10 week class): $500
  • Consecutive Interpretation (10 week class): $500
  • Simultaneous Interpretation (10 week class): $500
  • Sight Translation (10 week class): $500
  • Elective # 1 (10 week class): $500
  • Elective # 2 (10 week class): $500
  • Elective # 3 (10 week class): $500
  • One time certificate fee once you pass the entrance exam to enroll in the certificate: $125
  • Total: $5,325 US Dollars
Students pay as they go when they register for classes, not in one lump sum.

Additional costs not included in this estimate: Textbooks, the cost of having access to a computer with internet, and the cost of a webcam and headset with mic.
Our classes post to our website and become open for enrollment approximately two months prior to the new quarter starting. If you’d like to get an email reminder you can sign up for our newsletter(s) in MyExtension, under the “Preferences” tab.
We recommend enrolling as soon as possible, as occasionally classes will reach capacity.
To enroll into a class, click on the class link in the matrix and that will take you to that class page. There you can find the start date for that course, and you can click on “Add to Cart” which will lead you to complete the registration/payment process.
In general the translation and interpretation classes close on the following schedule:
  • Online classes close to additional enrollments the first Friday morning after the class starts. 
  • Enrollment to the entrance exam closes the Thursday prior to the exam at 3pm Pacific Time.
The name “application” is a bit confusing because this is meant to be completed after passing the entrance exam which is the only formal prerequisite to enrolling in the certificate.  If you submitted a certificate application prior to passing the entrance exam it will be denied however you can enroll in select classes that do not require the exam as a prerequisite and take the exam when it is offered next.  Once you pass the exam, you would then resubmit the certificate application.
Enrollment in a class may be blocked in the following situations:

◦The class is closed (see FAQ on when enrollment closes).
◦The class is at capacity. If the class is at capacity you will only be able to join the waitlist.  
◦The class is cancelled due to low enrollments.
◦The class has prerequisites that you have not completed yet.

For these reasons we recommend that you enroll early.
The refund deadline for translation and interpretation courses is 6 days after the class start date.
The refund deadline for the entrance exam is the day prior to the exam.
The exact refund deadline for each section is listed in the section notes.
If you have enrolled at least three days before the course begins, you will have access starting on the first day of class. You should receive an email from Student Services with instructions for how to login to the course. If you have enrolled on or after the start date of the course, you will have access to the course within one business day.
 

You will have access to the online Canvas course on the official start date of the class/exam/info session.  Access will be available at 12:01am Pacific Time.

Enrollment to online classes can take up to 24 hours to process and sync up to our online platform, Canvas. For example, if a class started on Tuesday and that is the day a student enrolled, they will likely not have full access to the class until 24 hours later on Wednesday.

When registering, students may choose between a Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass option. As long as a student receives a passing score (70% or higher), they will earn the same certificate of completion and any related documents, regardless of the grading method selected.

If you're pursuing employer reimbursement, we recommend checking with your company to confirm whether a Letter Grade is required for reimbursement eligibility.

Students can update their grading option via their MyExtension student portal anytime before 12:00 a.m. on the final class meeting.

 

Our program is an educational certificate, not a professional certification:
  • Students who complete the UC San Diego Diego Division of Extended Studies Translation and Interpretation certificate earn an educational certificate. This is different from a professional certification. Industry certifications are usually earned by passing an exam through the state or federal courts or through professional organizations.
  • There is currently no national form of certification required for translators and interpreters in the United States, however there are a variety of exams that you can take to demonstrate your proficiency to your employer or that are required for specific jobs. Some of these exams require previous professional experience as a translator/interpreter or an educational certificate such as the ones available at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies in order to qualify to take the exam.
  • You can read additional information about these exams/certifications in our online information session and this Certification Exams PDF.
To summarize: Our program does not result in a student being "certified" by UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies since this is an educational certificate, rather than an industry exam, however it will give you the skills needed to work in the field and will be very useful in passing many certification exams.
  • UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies offers continuing education loans through UC Approved Lenders. Each institution offers low competitive interest rates and flexible payment options. You are also encouraged to contact your personal financial institution about possible lending solutions. Direct links to UC Approved Lenders can be found on our website’s Financial Resources page.
  • The Employment Development Department (EDD) provides a comprehensive range of employment and training services in partnership with state and local agencies/organizations. More information is available on their website at edd.ca.gov.
  • Career Centers Located throughout San Diego County offer their communities comprehensive employment and training services benefiting both business and job seekers. More information is available on their website at workforce.org.
  • Please click here for information about Veteran’s Benefits.
  • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) funds are limited to degree programs only, and cannot be used for courses or certificate fees at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies.
Students can transfer in up to two courses that match the content of our required courses. Please email ahl@ucsd.edu for more information about the transferability of previously completed courses.
UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies is not a degree granting institution, however many UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies courses can be transferred to other colleges or universities.

The transferability of credit is determined solely by the receiving institution. Students should discuss how your individual courses will transfer with the Office of the Registrar at the receiving institution prior to enrolling.

Quarter to Semester Unit Conversion

If the receiving institution operates on a semester system, credits will be converted to semester hours during their evaluation. As a general rule, quarter credits are converted to semester credits by dividing the number of quarter credits by 1.5. For example, if the student completed a course worth 4 quarter credits at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, the course would be worth 4 ÷ 1.5 = 2.66 semester credits.
For questions regarding our classes and certificates, please contact us at ahl@ucsd.edu or 858-534-5760.

Advisory Board

Rebeca Calderon, M.A.

Manager, Interpreter Services, United States District Courts
Federal and State Certified Court Interpreter

Barbara Edwards

Senior Court Services Analyst, Court Interpreters Program
Exec Office Programs Division, Judicial Council of CA

Grant Goodall, PhD

Director and Professor, Linguistics Language Program
University of California, San Diego

Holly Mikkelson

Associate Professor/Author and Founder of ACEBO
Monterey Institute of International Studies

Ana Morales

Manager, Translation and Community Services
San Diego Unified School District

Teresa Newman, PhD, FNP

Director, Community Outreach Services
Scripps Healthcare

Related Programs

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

A TEFL Professional Certificate and a bachelor's degree can open doors to job opportunities around the globe as an English teacher.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Gain the skills to teach English as a second language in the U.S. or abroad with specialized training.

Translation (Spanish/English)

Gain advanced translation skills, cultural insight, and credentials to stand out and work in private, public, or freelance settings.