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2021-2022

Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Policy and Entrepreneurship for American Sign Language-English Interpreters

VCU

Community college:
Associate of Applied Science: American Sign Language, English Interpretation (Reynolds Community College (program specific pathway))
Reynolds Community College
Reynolds Community College
Associate degree

Associate of Applied Science: American Sign Language, English Interpretation

Program description

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies: Policy and Entrepreneurship for American Sign Language-English Interpreters focus is designed to provide a pathway to a bachelor’s degree for American Sign Language-English Interpreters who intend to seek advanced workforce credentials. The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies is an individualized and interdisciplinary program for students who wish to create an individualized curriculum not available in traditional curricular pathways within existing VCU degree programs. This pathway provides an individualized route for aspiring interpreters who want their ASL/IE expertise to be informed by coursework in finance, policy, educational issues, and other topics relevant to the deaf community and the work our students will do after graduation. In our increasingly complex global economy, 21st-century professionals need to have creative and entrepreneurial skills and be agile learners who can navigate the pace of career changes with confidence. The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) degree is one way to hone those skills as you explore the academic areas that match your passions and future plans.

Career opportunities

A majority of full-time ASL-English Interpretation positions in the Commonwealth are found in the K-12 public school setting. The minimum requirement to work as an ASL-English Interpreter in the K-12 setting in Virginia is a VQAS Level III, an EIPA of 3.5 or higher, or National Interpreting Certificate (NIC) certification. Those interpreters who attain NIC certification may also consider freelance and contract interpreting opportunities, including the expanding fields of video relay service (VRS) and video remote interpreting (VRI), which both utilize interactive video technology via the Internet.

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Court Interpreter
  • Disability Advocate
  • Educational Interpreters
  • Freelance/Community Interpreter
  • Medical Interpreters
  • Sign Language Interpreter
  • Video Relay Interpreter
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • N/A
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements

Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin

    To be designed in consultation with your academic advisor.

Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • Quantitative Foundations requirement only
Science required
  • Natural Sciences requirement only
Foreign language requirements
  • No
Additional tuition/fees
  • No
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.0+ cumulative GPA, 2.0+ major GPA
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Interdisciplinary Studies

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2021-2022

Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Policy and Entrepreneurship for American Sign Language-English Interpreters

Reynolds Community College (program specific pathway) (Associate of Applied Science: American Sign Language, English Interpretation)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Apply to the Reynolds Pathways Program.
  • Register for SDV 101: Orientation to American Sign Language and Interpreter Education.
  • Attend Reynolds orientation (SOAR).
  • Use Navigate to schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Understand how you will fund your education by taking advantage of free financial aid counseling.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges in your classes. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with the ASL&IE Program Head each semester and cultivate relationships with your professors.
  • Create LinkedIn profile.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
  • Browse careers related to ASL and English Interpretation through the Virginia Wizard.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Create, upload and update your resume to the College Central Network.
  • Take a career assessment through the Virginia Wizard.
Experience Year 2
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
  • Get involved with service-learning opportunities.
  • Become familiar with OMSA at VCU.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Continue to partner with diversity leader/ facilitator/ mentor to move towards cultural competence.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Apply to the Reynolds Pathways Program.
  • Register for SDV 101: Orientation to American Sign Language and Interpreter Education.
  • Attend Reynolds orientation (SOAR).
  • Use Navigate to schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Understand how you will fund your education by taking advantage of free financial aid counseling.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges in your classes. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with the ASL&IE Program Head each semester and cultivate relationships with your professors.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Create LinkedIn profile.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
  • Browse careers related to ASL and English Interpretation through the Virginia Wizard.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Create, upload and update your resume to the College Central Network.
  • Take a career assessment through the Virginia Wizard.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
  • Get involved with service-learning opportunities.
  • Become familiar with OMSA at VCU.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Continue to partner with diversity leader/ facilitator/ mentor to move towards cultural competence.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2021-2022

Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Policy and Entrepreneurship for American Sign Language-English Interpreters

Reynolds Community College (program specific pathway) (Associate of Applied Science: American Sign Language, English Interpretation)

Reynolds Community College (program specific pathway) courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 101 Orientation to American Sign Language and Interpreter Education UNIV 101 1 Elective
ASL 101 American Sign Language I FRLG 101 4 Elective
ASL 102 American Sign Language II FRLG 102 4 Elective
ASL 115 Fingerspelling and Number Use in ASL FRLG 1XX 2 Elective
ASL 201 American Sign Language III FRLG 201 3 Elective
ASL 202 American Sign Language IV FRLG 202 3 Elective
ASL 208 ASL for Classroom Setting UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
ASL 220 Comparative Linguistics: ASL and English FRLG 2XX 3 Elective
ASL 225 Literature of the Deaf Community FRLG 3XX 4 Major
ASL 261 American Sign Language V FRLG 3XX 3 Major
ASL 262 American Sign Language VI FRLG 3XX 3 Major
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education
INT 107 Translation Skill UNIV 2XX 4 Elective
INT 130 Interpreting: An Introduction to the Profession UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 133 ASL to English Interpretation I UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 134 English to ASL Interpretation I UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 233 ASL to English Interpretation II UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 234 English to ASL Interpretation II UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 237 Interpreting ASL in Safe Settings UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 250 Dialogic Interpretation I UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 280 Interpreter Assessment Preparation UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
INT 290 Coordinated Internship in Interpreter Education UNIV 2XX 3 Elective
ITE 115 Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts INFO 160, 161, 162 3 Elective
MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 131 3 General education
PSY 230 Developmental Psychology PSYC 304 3 Major
HLT/PED Personal Wellness VCU equivalent 1 Elective
Reynolds credits transferred to VCU 77
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
UNIV 200 Inquiry and the Craft of Argument 3 General education
Humanities/Fine Arts Select 1: ENGL 215, HIST 201, HUMS 250, MASC/INTL 151, PHIL 201, PHIL 250, RELS 108, WRLD/INTL 203, WRLD 230 3 General education
Social/Behavioral Science Select 1: ANTH/INTL 103, ECON 101/INTL 102, GSWS 201, INTL 101, HUMS 300, POLI 103, POLI/INTL 105, PSYC 101, SOCY 101 3 General education
Natural/Physical Science Select 1: BIOL 101, BIOL/ENVS 103, CHEM 110, ENVS 201, FRSC 202, INSC 201, PHYS 103 3 General education
UNIV 301 Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice 3 Major
UNIV 303 Interdisciplinarity in the Professional World 3 Major
UNIV 492 Independent Study (e.g., Interpreter Observation Hours) 3 Major
UNIV 493 Internship (Mentoring Internship) 3 Major
UNIV 499 BIS Capstone 3 Major
Four pathway elective courses (select 4 from the following list): ANTH 328, BUSN 323, BUSN 329, EDUS 300, EDUS 301, EDUS 305, FIRE 301, MGMT 321, POLI 310, PSYC 340, PSYC 410, URSP 306. 12 Major
Upper-level electives from the College of Humanities and Sciences (300- or 400-level) 9 General education
Credits completed at VCU 48
Bachelor's degree total 125