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The field of Interpreting Studies explores the technical aspects of community and international communication in consecutive and simultaneous modes. While interpreting has been done for millennia, the skill has been studied and institutionalized with the founding of the School of Interpreters of Geneva, Switzerland in 1940.

The Interpreting Studies program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, founded in 1980, is one of the oldest in the country. Interpreters must be college graduates; they must possess a broad cultural background and a general knowledge of politics, economics, and law. Public speaking, memory, note-taking, and ethics are also important. Interpreting may be done face-to-face, in a booth, over the phone, and via remote audio and/or video connections. The certificate program trains students in those areas.