American Sign Language-English Interpretation Admission
American Sign Language-English Interpretation Admission
Sign language interpreting is a fascinating, challenging and rapidly expanding field. With more than 1,100 deaf and hard-of-hearing students, 18,000 hearing students on campus, and more than 100 deaf and hard-of-hearing faculty and staff members, RIT provides you with a unique environment and excellent opportunities to increase your knowledge of cultures and enhance your English, American Sign Language and interpreting skills.
Applying for Admission
Ways to Apply
Statement on Ethical and Fair Admissions Practices
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions continues to put students first in the admissions process. We continue to use fair and ethical practices as we recruit, review applications and counsel our prospective students and their families. Our admissions officers support and promote ethical responsibility with our colleagues in the admission profession.
Manage Application
Whichever method you choose to apply, we invite you to create an RIT Admissions account to monitor your application, track the status of your application credentials, receive your admissions decision, and more.
Admission to RIT is competitive, but our admission process is a personal one. Each application is reviewed holistically for strength of academic preparation, performance on standardized tests, counselor recommendations, and your personal career interests. We seek applicants from a variety of geographic, social, cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.
Application Checklist for students in the American Sign Language-English Interpretation program:
Timelines |
Early Decision I | Early Decision II | Regular Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Deadline | November 1st | January 1st | January 15th |
| Recommended FAFSA Submission deadline | November 1st | January 1st | January 15th |
| Decision Notification | Mid-December | Mid-January | Mid-March |
| Enrollment Deposit Deadline - Pay Deposit | January 15th | February 15th | May 1st |
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Students may begin submitting applications August 1 For Spring Semester or Summer Term, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Notifications will go out 4-6 weeks after all documents are received. |
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Early Decision
Early Decision (ED) plans come in many different forms. RIT’s Early Decision Plans can be described as a “friendly” version of a binding agreement.
Academic Preparation and Requirements
To become an interpreter, students must develop competency in both English and ASL. The more adept students become in the grammar and the linguistic structure the more comfortable they will be at interpreting.
To succeed in this program, students need to commit to spending significant time outside of class to record videos, meet with deaf people for feedback, and immerse themselves in ASL and Deaf culture by attending community events.
Students interested in pursuing ASL-English interpreting as a career should take into consideration this additional aspect of time commitment before applying to the program.
Other skills needed to be a successful interpreter:
- A solid foundation in spoken and written English
- Basic computer skills
- Ability to clearly hear the speech of another person (even if the person is behind you or the speech is recorded, and you are listening through headphones)
- Ability to speak clearly, so others can understand
- Ability to concentrate and not be distracted while performing a task over a period of time
- An interest in different cultures
- An interest in working with people