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Interpreting Studies is a field which focuses on both research and practice in translating spoken language. Interpreters work in local community contexts and across the international community. While interpreters have been an important presence in the world for millennia, the practice of interpreting only began to be studied at the institutional level 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. The program emphasizes a number of aspects of interpreting that it considers essential for professional interpreters. They must have advanced linguistic knowledge of at least two languages, possess the relevant cultural knowledge and understanding central to a particular task, and be fully aware of the ethical dimension of their role. The certificate program aims to introduce students to the different demands of the interpreter’s task, whether their interactions with others take place face-to-face, in an interpreting booth, over the phone, or via remote audio and/or video connections.