---

Sign Language Interpretation

Types of Degrees Sign Language Interpretation Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Sign Language Interpretation may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	156
Associate’s Degree	438
Bachelor’s Degree	362
Master’s Degree	457
Doctor’s Degree	4

What Sign Language Interpretation Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Sign Language Interpretation build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Sign Language Interpretation graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Sign Language Interpretation emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Sign Language Interpretation program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Sign Language Interpretation careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Sign Language Interpretation graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.7 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	3.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.8 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.8 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Sign Language Interpretation professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Stormdance CatsCradle	Foreign language software	—
Adapt It	Foreign language software	—
DocTranslate	Foreign language software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Lingoes	Foreign language software	—
Smart Link Corporation ImTranslator	Foreign language software	—
jalada GmbH Just Translate	Foreign language software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Productivity software	Project management software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML	Web platform development software	—
OmegaT	Foreign language software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Sign Language Interpretation graduates include:

• Interpreter
• Paraprofessional Interpreter
• Braille Transcriber
• Translator
• Cryptologic Linguist
• Educational Interpreter
• Vietnamese Interpreter
• Foreign Language Interpreter
• Freelance Translator
• Language Translator
• Spanish Translator
• Bilingual Secretary
• Medical Interpreter
• Bilingual Interpreter
• Language Interpreter

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Sign Language Interpretation graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	54.7%
Master’s degree	27.9%
High school diploma or equivalent	8.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.4%
Post-master’s certificate	3.7%
Postsecondary certificate	1.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Sign Language Interpretation?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.7% of Sign Language Interpretation degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,259	88.7%
Men	161	11.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Sign Language Interpretation graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	864	60.8%
Asian	29	2.0%
Hispanic or Latino	272	19.2%
Black or African American	118	8.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	6	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.1%
Two or More Races	71	5.0%
Race Unknown	52	3.7%
International Students	6	0.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Sign Language Interpretation Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Sign Language Interpretation graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,601
4 years	$38,080
5 years	$43,723

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $43,723 — roughly 19% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Sign Language Interpretation Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Sign Language Interpretation. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	4	2
Bachelor’s	2	5
Master’s	2	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Sign Language Interpretation Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Sign Language Interpretation graduates earn a median of $38,080 four years after completion — essentially in line with the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
American Sign Language	16.16
American Sign Language (ASL)	16.1601
American Sign Language, Other	16.1699
Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages	16.1602
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0201
Albanian Language and Literature	16.0404
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1103
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202
Applied Linguistics	16.0105
Arabic Language and Literature	16.1101
Armenian Language and Literature	16.1801

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.